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1.  &  M.  OTTENHEIMER,  PUBLISHERS. 
321  W.  Baltimore  Street,  Baltimore,  Maryland 


HARRY  TRACY* 


Tracy,  the  Outlaw, 
King  of  Bandits 


A   NARRATIVE  OF  THE   THRILLING  ADVENTURES   OF  THE 
MOST   DARING   AND    RESOURCEFUL    BANDIT 
EVER  RECORDED  IN  THE  CRIMINAL  AN- 
NALS OF  THE  WORLD. 


BY 

HARRY  HAWKEYE. 
ILLUSTRATED. 


COPYRIGHT,   1908,  BY  I.  &  M.  OTTENHEIMER. 


1  &  M.  OTTENHEIMER,  Publishers, 
W-  Baltimore  St  BALTIMORE,  MD« 


CONTENT!. 


CHAPTER  I.                         PAGB 
Harry  Tracy — 9 

CHAPTER  II. 
Tracy  and  the  Hoboes 15 

CHAPTER  III. 
^Tracy's  First  Escape  from  the  Utah  Penitentiary. .  32 

;    *                              CHAPTER  IV. 
^Tracy  With  the  Cattle  Rustlers 42 

CHAPTER  V. 
rTracy  at  Cripple  Creek 48 

.    CHAPTER  VI. 
-  A  Mule  Trai;    Hold-Up 56 

£?  CHAPTER  VII. 

f*  Tracy's  Second  Escape  from  the  Utah  Penitentiary  63 

T •  CHAPTER  VIII. 

^'  'Genie  Tries  to  Reform  Tracy 74 

>.  CHAPTER  IX. 

<  Tracy  With  the  Horse  Thieves 78 

CHAPTER  X. 
Tracy  Meets  Merrill 88 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Automobile  Hold-Up 94 

7 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  XII.  PAGE 

Arrest  of  Tracy  and  Merrill  at  Portland 101 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Tracy  Plans  Escape  from  Oregon  Prison 108 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Tracy  Escapes  from  Oregon  Prison 112 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Hands  Up !    I'm  Tracy 128 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Captured  by  Tracy 136 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
Blood  Hounds  on  the  Trail . . 145 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
The  Duel .152 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Tracy  Captures  a  Launch  on  Puget  Sound  and 
Escapes 156 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Tracy  Defeats  the  Sheriff's  Posse >  164 

CHAPTER  XXL 
Bloodhounds  Baffled  by  Tracy i 169 

CHAPTER  XXII, 
Out  of  the  Toils  Again 177 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
Death  of  ^racy 181 

8 


Tracy,  the  Outlaw, 
King  of  Bandits 

CHAPTER  I. 

HARRY   TRACY. 

The  unparalleled  ingenuity,  cool  resourcefulness  and 
desperate  courage  displayed  by  Harry  Tracy  after  his 
escape  from  the  Oregon  Penitentiary,  and  while  being 
hunted  down  by  the  militia,  sheriff's  posses  and  hordes 
ef  other  seekers  for  the  large  reward  offered  for  his 
capture,  dead  or  alive,  have  signalized  his  career  as 
unique  in  the  field  of  stupendous  adventure  and  daring 
deeds,  and  will  ever  hold  him  in  the  lime  light,  on  the 
stage  of  reckless  bravery  and  tactful  genius,  as  the 
KING  of  all  the  renowned  outlaws  in  the  history  of  tbe 


Harry  Tracy  was  born  in  about  the  year  1871.  The 
place  of  his  birth  has  never  been  definitely  determined; 
but  it  is  reasonably  certain  that  it  was  either  Louisville, 
Ky.,  or  in  Dutchess  County,  New  York. 

debut  into  tfee  sefeher  worid  of 


XO  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

was  due  more  to  the  fault  of  another  than  to  any  in* 
herent  criminal  tendency  so  far  as  was  known  at  that 
time;  but  once  launched  upon  a  career  of  lawlessness, 
he  followed  it  to  the  end;  all  the  while  displaying 
those  phenomenal  traits  of  courage  ard  generalship, 
which  had  they  been  directed  in  <  in:* els  v,o  -1  ' 

with  opportunity,  have  elevated  him  to  t!u  is ';"'• 
nacle  in  the  science  of  war. 

Little  of  interest  or  out  of  the  ordinary  is  known  of 
the  antecedents  of  Harry  Tracy;  his  firvt  advent  into 
the  maelstrom  of  his  subsequent  adventurous  life  was 
his  romantic  attachment  to  'Genie  Carter,  a  beautiful 
girl  whose  home  was  near  that  of  the  embryo  outlaw 
in  the  Ozark  mountains  near  the  Arkansas  border  of 
Missouri. 

Held  in  the  leashes  of  an  overpowering  and  abiding 
love  for  this  beautiful  daughter  of  the  Ozarks,  Harry 
Tracy  was  equal  to  any  personal  sacrifice  whch  in  his 
ardent  passion  he  conceived  could  in  any  manner  con- 
duce to  her  well  being  and  best  interests. 

At  this  period  of  his  career,  Tracy  was  a  youth  just 
budding  into  full  manhood.  In  appearance  he  was  a 
magnificent  specimen  of  physical  develpment  with  t 
handsome  face  which  bore  all  the  indication's  of  indom- 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  II 

metrical,  with  a  play  of  muscle  strong  and  lithe  ao  that 
of  a  young  Bengal  tiger. 

From  constant  exposur>  attending  a  life  of  out  door 
pursuits,  his  face  was  bronzed  almost  to  the  shade  of 
an  Indian  brave  a^d  which  supplied  a  striking  setting 
for  the  keen  blue-gray  eyes  before  whose  icy  glitter 
hundreds  of  his  pursuers  later  in  his  career  were  made 
to  quail  ar.d  tremble. 

"Genie,"  said  Tracy,  as  one  evening  they  stood  in  a 
sequestered  spot  on  the  mountain  top,  "Genie,  I  see  my 
finish  here.  I  must  leave  my  home  and  you,  too,  Genie. 
My  home,  perhaps  forever ;  but  you,  .Genie,  will  be  true 
to  me,  and  soon  I  will  send  for  you  to  come  to  me 
where  conditions  of  life  will  be  more  favorable  to  us 
both  than  they  have  been  here." 

"But,  why,  Harry,  why  do  you  have  to  leive  ir "' 
"Genie,  there  has  teen  a  crime  committed  of  which  I 
am  suspected.  You  know  that  I  have  never  been  guilty 
of  a  dishonest  act ;  but  the  toils  are  closing  around  me 
and  there  is  no  escape  except  by  the  exposure  of  the 
real  culprit  and  before  I'd  do  that  I'd  have  my  heart 
torn  from  me  with  hooks  of  red  hot  steel." 

"Oh,  Harry,  it  cannot  be  so  serious  as  you  imagine/5 
sobbed  the  girl,  "stay  Harry  for  my  sake  and  meet  your 
accusers.  I  know  you  a*re  innocent.  My  heart  tells 
me  so.  Others  will  know  it  too  in  time." 


TRACY,    THE    OUTLAW. 

to  spare  you  that  I  am  going.  Can 
10  robbed  the';store?" 
he  girl,  sinking  down  upon  one  of  the 
which  lined  the  mountain  path,  "I  see  it 
my  brother." 

.  Genie,"  he  said,  "it  was  your  brother  and  it 
by  a  mere  accident  that  I  discovered  it.  I  was 
hunting  along  the  river  bank,  just  after  day  break  last 
Monday  when  I  saw  your  brother  with  another  man 
unload  the  plunder  from  a  boat.  They  carried  it  a  little 
way  from  the  river  and  buried  it  in  a  hollow  just  at  the 
foot  of  the  big  oak  tree  near  the  white  rock.  Then 
they  covered  it  over  with  leaves  and  dry  brush  and 
rolled  small  bowlders  in  amongst  the  brush.  I  was 
about  to  take  a  shot  at  thern  and  recover  the  goods ;  but 
for  your  sake,  Genie,  I  lowered  my  gun.  Somehow,  my 
finger  could  not  work  the  trigger." 

Tears  glistened  in  the  young  girl's  eyes  and  looking 
foundly  into  the  face  of  herJover,  said,  "then  it  was  for 
my  sake,  Harry,  that  you  did  not  shoot." 

"Yes,  Genie,  I  could  not  cause  you  pain  even  though 
I  will  have  to  suffer  much  for  it  myself.  They  are  now 
hot  after  the  culprit  and  they  have  fastened  the  rob- 
bery upon  me.  It  is  a  serious  matter  too;  because  in 
robbing  the  store  the  United  States  mail  was  taken. 
"But,  Harry,  is  there  no  way  that  you  can  save  your- 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  IJ 

self  except  by  flight.  They  will  have  to  prove  that  you 
are  the  guilty  one.  Maybe  both  you  and  my  brother 
will  escape  if  you  are  wise  and  fight  it  out." 

"No,  Genie/*  replied  Tracy,  "there's  no  chance  for 
me  but  to  peach  on  your  brother.  My  old  man  has 
sifted  the  matter  pretty  well  and  has  heard  all  that  is 
being  said  by  the  authorities  and  he  says  I'd  better  skin 
out  if  I  do  not  want  to  be  taken ;  so  I  will  have  to  go." 

"Then,  Harry,  I'm  going  with  you,"  cried  the  girl, 
putting  her  hands  upon  his  shoulders  and  looking  up 
appealingly  into  his  handsome  face. 

"No,  no, , Genie,  that's  impossible.  Why,  girl, ..I'm 
going  to  hit  the  pike.  I've  nothing  now ;  but  I  will  have, 
and  when  I  catch  on  I'll  send  for  you.  And  will  you 
jome," 

"I'd  go  to  you,  Harry,  if  I  have  to  walk  over  Sa- 
haras  of  scorching  sand.  Wherever  you  may  be  and 
whenever  you  call  for  me  I'll  go.  Now  there,"  and  the 
girl  raised  her  face  and  pouted  her  pretty  red  lips,  upon 
which  Tracy  showered  a  torrent  of  kisses.  i 

"Yes,  Genie,  it  is  far  better  that  I  should  go  before 
I  have  to  shoot  a  sheriff;  for  I  am  not  guilty  of  any 
offense  against  the  law  and  do  not  intend  to  be  ar- 
rested." 

"Well,  Harry,  you  may  depend  upon  me  to  follow 
you  to  where  ever  your  life  may  lead — only  do  send 


14  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

for  me  soon;  for  my  life  will  be  sad  and  dreary  with- 
out you.  But,  hark  what  is  that  noise — sounds  like 
some  animal  crashing  through  the  timber  just  there 
below  the  bend  in  the  path." 

At  this  moment  a  mounted  deputy  sheriff  sprang  sud- 
denly into  view  and  reining  up  his  horse  brought  his 
rifle  to  his  shoulder  at  the  same  moment  crying  "Halt ! 
Come,  surrender,  Tracy,  or  I'll  fire  on  you." 

"Don't  shoot!  Don't  shoot!"  pleaded  Genie,"  he'll 
give  himself  up."  "Like  h~l,  he  will,"  hissed  Tracy 
whilst  at  the  sai.ie  instant  a  shot  rang  out  and  the 
deputy  plunged  headlong  from  his  horse,  stone  dead, 
with  a  heavy  load  of  buck  shot  in  his  heart. 

"There  is  no  question  as  to  what  I  shall  do  now, 
Genie.  You  hasten  home  and  I  will  visit  the  place 
where  your  brother  has  hidden  the  plunder.  There  may 
be  something  there  that  I  may  need  to  help  me  along  in 
my  flight.  Good-by,  darling."  And  taking  the  beautiful 
girl  in  his  strong  arms  Tracy  kissed  her  again  and 
again,  and  then  releasing  her,  gave  her  a  gentle  little 
push,  saying:  "Run  along  now  and  try  to  be  as  happy 
as  you  can  until  we  meet  again." 

-  In  another  moment,  Tracy  was  striding  through  the 
tall  timber  in  the  direction  of  the  spot  where  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  robbery  had  been  secreted. 


CHAPTER  II. 

TRACY  AND  THE  HOBOES, 

Finding  a  brace  of  revolvers  together  with  ammuni- 
tion, some  blankets  and  a  few  other  articles  useful  to 
him,  Tracy  covered  up  the  plunder  in  its  hiding  place, 
leaving  it  as  he  had  found  it  and  bent  his  steps  towards 
the  Missouri  River.  Overtaken  by  night,  he  built  a  fire 
in  a  dense  portion  of  the  woods  and  rolling  himself  in 
his  blankets,  spent  the  first  of  the  many  nights  he  was 
destined  to  sleep  under  the  stars  a  hunted  fugitive  and 
outlaw.  For  several  weeks  he  wandered  through  the 
woods. 

Early  one  morning,  Tracy  arose,  refreshed  from  his 
sleep  and  pursued  his  way  towards  the  sluggish  and 
muddy  waters  of  the  great  Missouri.  Just  as  he 
emerged  from  the  timber  and  in  plain  view  of  the' 
stream  he  heard  the  voices  of  several  men  which 
seemed  to  emanate  from  behind  a  slight  eminence  just' 
at  the  river  bank  and  which  concealed  from  his  view 
the  speakers. 

Advancing  cautiously  to  the  brow  of  the  hiHoek,  Wa 


16  TRACY,  THE  0UTLAW. 

eyes  were  gladdened  by  the  sight  of  two  dilapidated 
hoboes  preparing  a  meal  over  the  glowing  embers  of  a 
camp  fire.  For  a  moment  the  hungry  man  stood 
watching  the  hoboes  at  their  Culinary  work  while  hiss 
nostrils  were  regaled  with  the  delicious  aroma  of  the 
coffee  they  were  boiling  in  an  old  tomato  can. 

For  Tracy,  the  man  of  quick  decision  and  prompt 
action,  it  only  required  a  few  seconds  to  determine  his 
course.  Besides  being  urged  on  by  his  ravenous  appe- 
tite Tracy  was  beginning  to  feel  the  lonesomeness  of  his 
condition;  for  he  was  not  yet  accustomed  to  the  long 
and  lonely  vigils  in  almost  inaccessible  ravines,  caves 
and  dense  forests  to  which  the  exigencies  of  his  later 
experiences  condemned  him. 

In  another  instant  two  dismayed  and  terrified  hoboes 
were  looking  into  the  black  muzzles  of  a  double-barrel 
shotgun. 

"Come,  you  fellows,  there— — "  shouted  Tracy. 

"For  God's  sake,  don't  shoot,  Mister  Officer.  We'll 
go  wid  ye  !Jr  cried  the  tramps,  thinking  that  Tracy  was 
an  cffficer  of  the  law  fttuading  up  hoboes  on  gaoeral 
;  principles, 

"Oh,  quit  your  squealinM"  commanded  Tracy;  "I'm 
not  going  to  hurt  you.  All  I  want  is  that  grub  you 
seem  to  have  prepared  with  so  much  care  for  me." 

"AB  r|ghV  mister,  o*iyiMf*g  yo»  «~«tf'  shotted!]* 


2RACY   AND    THE   HOBQML 

iy« 


l8  TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW. 

hcboes  together.     "Just  come  erlong  and  help  yer- 
self." 

"I  guess,"  said  Tracy,  "you  fellows  had  better  move 
off  till  I  get  through." 

This  order  was  obeyed  with  alacrity  by  the  two 
hcboes,  who  moved  away  to  the  water's  edje,  display- 
ing by  their  manner  much  relief  when  Tracy  lowered 
his  gun  and  laid  it  on  the  grass  beside  him,  as  he  took 
his  seat  alongside  the  fire  and  began  to  help  himself 
to  the  frizzling  bacon,  hot  hoecake  and  nice  coffee 
which  the  roadsters  had  prepared  with  so  much  antici- 
pated pleasure  for  themselves. 

Tracy  eat  ravenously,  looking  up  from  time  to  time 
and  eyeing  the  tramps,  who  maintained  their  respect- 
ful distance  whilst  conversing  together  in  an  under- 
tone. 

"What  are  you  fellows  croaking  about  over  there, 
anyway?"  called  Tracy.  "If  you  think  youVe  got 
sense  enough  to  know  when  you're  out  of  danger,  I 
don't  mind  if  you  come  over  here  and  take  a  bite 
yourselves;  but  mind  you  don't  get  funny  and  make 
any  bad  cracks  or  I'll  feel  tempted  to  see  how  far  you 
can  both  jump  with  a  toad  of  buckshot  under  .your 
*" 

Say,  mister,  we're  all  right/'  said  one  of  the  ho* 
>fm?"  appealing  to  his 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW*  19 

"You  bet,  Hoke." 

"Well,"  rejoined  Tracy,  "if  }  i\  think  you  nave  dis- 
cretion enough  to  head  cff  a  shower  of  buckshot,  you 
may  come  over  and  eat ;  1  r*t  Keep  on  your  own  side  of 
the  fire." 

As  the  hcloes  sealed  f.ie'.riselves  ty  the  fire  and 
i?^an  to  partake  of  inan.ts  <  i  the  fcart,  Tra:y 

had  al.out  fmif-h^d  h'.  :  -.nmarinq;  in 

v-»  O 

:e  you   fellows  acr.ial  :t'jd  around -the:- e  parts0'* 
n  '  c-J   ""racy 

"K':cw  every  foot  c,  f  ground  f^r  five  hu::-,lre-d  miles 
arour.d, '  answered  the  hobo  who  rejoiced  in  the  eupho- 
nious cognomen  of  Kansas  Hoke — not  because  he  was 
a  product  of  that  State,  but  having  perpetrated  seme 
miner  offense  in  his  native  city  of  Boston  some  years 
before  had  drifted  out  to  Kansas,  in  which  State  he 
was  first  initiated  into  the  technique  of  hoboism  a::d 
from  which  he  derived  his  sobriquet  of  "Kansas 
Hoke." 

"Who  be  you,  mister,  may  I  ask  ?"  said  the  hobo 
known  to  his  familiars  as  "Hungry  Jim." 

"Yes,  you  may  ask,"  answered  Tracy,  "and  I  don't 
mind  telling  you,  as  you  may  be  of  use.  to  me;  but 
mind  you  don't  do  me  dirt,  for  this  shooting  iron  has 
just  sent  one  fellow  on  his  long  cruise,  and  it's  always 


2O  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

ready  f  j  bark  at  the  least  suspicion  of  treachery.  I 
am  Tracy  and  a  fugitive  from  the  law.  The  Sheriff's 
after  me  for  the  robbery  of  a  store  and  potting  of  a 
deputy  sheriff. 

This  announcement  whilst  enhancing  the  enforced 
respect  of  the  hoboes  for  Tracy,  seemed  also  to  estab- 
lish a  bond  of  fellowship ;  for  they  themselves,  al- 
though insignificant  fish  in  the  great  pool  of  crime, 
were  no  strangers  to  the  grasp  of  the  law's  long  arm. 

"Do  you  fellows  know  about  where  we  are  just 
now?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Hoke, .  "we're  on  the  Missouri,  not 
far  from  Kansas  City — at  least,  not  as  far  as  we'd 
like  to  be,  pardner." 

"Why,  what's  the  matter  with  Kansas  City?  I've 
never  been  there,  but  I've  heard  it's  a  good  town,"  said 
Tracy. 

"The  town's  all  right,  but  the  climate's  ui-iiealthy 
just  at  this  time  for  us,  eh,  Jim?" 
-     "Yes"  said  Jim,  "we  left  for  our  health." 

"Robbing  a  hen  roost,  I  suppose,"  sneered  Tracy. 
"Why  didn't  you  fellows  do  something  worth  while 
and  get  some  dough,  instead  of  browsing  around  on 
the  banks  of  muddy  rivers  and  on  roadsides  and  living 
out  of  tomato  cans?  Get  some  dough  and  live  like 
men.  When  I  get  my  wad  I'm  going  to  Oregon.  I 


TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW.  21 

guess  that's  far  enough  away  from  the  Sherirfs  of  Mis- 
souri. Then  I'm  going  to  prospect  fot;  mines.  You 
fellows  have  traveled  some.  How  far  is  it  from  here 
to  Portland,  Oregon,  or  Seattle,  Washington?" 

"Distance  ain't  measured  by  miles  these  days,"  re- 
plied Kansas  Hoke;  "depends  on  how  you  go.  By 
Pullman  plush  it's  three  days ;  by  drawhead  reserved 
seats  it's  thirty/' 

"Well,  I  don't  know  much  about  your  professional 
terms  for  travel,  but  I'm  going  by  Pullman  plush,  as 
that's  what  I  take  you  to  mean  by  a  first-class  ticket 
and  a  Pullman  berth." 

"That's  it,  pardner,  and  a  good  way  to  travel,  too, 
when  a  feller's  got  the  scads,"  replied  Hungry  Jim; 
"but,  you  see,  we  are  not  bank  cashiers  just  yet,  and 
we  have  to  hot-foot  the  pikes  and  ties  when  makin'  a 
getaway." 

"If  you  'fellows  and  the  whole  pesky  tribe  to  which 
you  belong  had  the  nerve  of  a  singing  mouse,  the  bank 
cashiers  wouldn't  have  a  chance  to  get  away." 

"Yes,  that's  so,"  chimed  in  Kansas  Hoke.  "If  we 
had  a  bank  to  pull  on  we  .might  be  sailing  about  the 
river  in  a  steam  launch,  with  glad  hunting  togs  and 
silver-plated  shotguns  like  those  guys  down  the  river 
what  we  saw  last  night  in  their  camp.  Oh,  but  the 


2£  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

juicy  steaks  they  was  a-^roilin',  and  the  wine  was 
a-flowm'  like  the  rapids  of  old  Niagara,  eh,  Jiiti?" 

"You  bet,"  exclaimed  Hungry  Jim,  smacking  his 
lips  at  the  remembrance  of  the  good  cheer  at  the 
camp. 

"What  camp  is  that .'"  asked  Tracy. 

"Don't  know/'  replied  Hoke.  ,  "Some  swell  guys, 
though  Out  hunting  and  fishing,  I  reckon." 

"How  many?"  asked  Tracy. 

i 
"About  eight,"  replied  Hoke;  "one  old  guy  and  a 

bunch  of  young  fellows — all  togged  out  in  style,  I  tell 
you,  and  all  kinds  of  grub  and  booze  We  got  this 
bacon,  flour  and  coffee  from  'em.  I  got  chinnin'  with 
the  cook,  while  Jim  he  swiped  the  grub." 

Bending  forward,  his  <rn  "h'd  ncross  his  knees, 
T  ncy  farter.eV  '  ~  the  hoboes  nd 

between  his  cle::,'  ;! 

"Why  in  h — 1  didn't  you  held  the  camp  up  and  get 
all  you  wanted?  Waitin"  for  me  to  come  along,  eh, 
and  show  you  how  to  put  soup  in  your  mouth  with  a 
spoon,  eh?" 

"Gosh!  You  don't  mean  to  say  you'd  done  that?" 
ejaculated  Jim. 

"Why  not?1'  queried  Tracy.  "You  don't  expect  to 
get  swag  without  action,  do  you?" 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  ^J 

"Yes,  but  they  all  had  guns,"  broke  in  Kansas  Hoke, 
"and  there  was  eight  of  'em  besides  the  cook." 

"Well,  what  of  that?"  snarled  Tracy,  an  expresrion 
of  disgust  stealing  over  his  swarthy  Mature?  "Couldn't 
the  two  of  you  snatched  the  guns  and  got  the  drop  on 
em?" 

"Yes,  and  get  killed,"  groaned  Hungry  Jim. 

"Ha,  ha,  ha!"  laughed  Tracy,  curling  his  clean-cut 
lips  and  casting  a  side  glance  with  his  terrible  eyes  at 
the  awe-stricken  tramps.  "Suppose  you  had  been 
killed— just  a  little  dogmeat  less  in  the  world.  Why, 
don't  you  know,  you  lazy  vermin,  that  nothing  worth 
having  on  earth  is  to  be  had  except  it  is  won  over  an 
open  grave — unless  you  are  born  a  priest,  politician 
or  a  high  financier— that  is,  one  of  the  holy  Trinity 
which  the  fatuity  of  a  decaying  race  has  enshrined 
upon  the  altar  o.  :mmunity?" 

"Don't  understand  what  you  mean,  but  guess  it's  all 
right,  pardner/" 

"What  kind  of  guns  have  those  fellows  got  down  in 
that  camp?"  inquired  Tracy. 

"All  kinds  o'  guns,  pardner — rifles  and  belts  and 
huntin'  knives,  with  pearl  handles,  and  the  swellest 
togs  you  ever  see/'  replied  Hoke. 

"Well,"  drawled  Tracy,  "you'll  go  with  m*  and  I'S 
flfeow  &m  tow  to 


24  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

"Say  now,  captain,  you  don't  mean  that.  We  don't, 
want  to  go  into  that  kind  o'  deal.  It's  not  perfesh- 
ional,"  piped  Hungry  Jim. 

"Yes,  we  will  go,  Jim/'  cried  Kansas  Hoke,  "if  you 
think  the  captain  here's  got  the  nerve  to  do  what  he 
says." 

"Just  you  fellows  fall  in  there  ahead  of  me  and 
lead  the  way  to  that  camp,  and  mind  you  don't  weaken 
or  you'll  have  a  worse  deal  on  than  any  of  those  eight 
dude  guys  can  hand  you  out." 

"All  right,  Captain,  just  as  you  say,"  s.aid  Hoke, 
taking  Hungry  Jim  by  the  sleeve  and  leading  him 
along  in  advance  of  Tracy,  who  followed  at  a  little 
distance  behind,  holding  his  gun  ready  for  instant  ac- 
tion in  case  of  any  sign  of  weakening  on  the  part  of 
his  impressed  forces. 

"Say,  Hoke,  this  looks  like  being  driven  to  prosperity 
against  one's  will.  If  we  can  only  stand  the  prosperity 
when  we  get  it,  eh  ?"  said  Jim. 

"Well,"  mumbled  Hoke,  "if  this  -fellow  holds  that 
camp  tf  he's  a  fed,  asd  I  think  we'd  better  stick  with 
him," 

For  three  miles  along  the  banks  of  the  muddy  stream 
the  trio  trudged  along,  the  two  tramps  in  front  and 
Tracy  behind  carrying  his  gun  thrown  in  the  hollow  of 


TRACY,  THB  OUTLAW.  *j 

Turning  a  sharp  bend  in  the  river,  the  camp  of  the 
swells,  pitched  in  a  little  clump  of  trees,  came  into 
view.  A  little  ways  out  in  the  stream  the  steam  launch, 
a  beautiful  little  craft-,  lay  at  anchor,  rising  and  falling 
on  the  crests  of  wavelets,  with  which  the  brisk  autumn 
breeze  had  rippled  the  murky  surface  of  the  slugghh 

stream. 

•f 

All  was  activity  in  the  camp.  The  blue  smoke  from 
the  camp  fire  was  curling  up  amongst  the  trees  and 
speeding  off  in  ever-enlarging  circles  into  space.  The 
air  was  filled  with  the  enticing  aroma  of  delicious 
viands  as  the  white-capped  chef  moved  around  the  fire, 
turning  his  spits,  which  pinioned  rare  game,  and  per- 
forming with  masterful  touch  all  those  little  duties 
which  proclaim  louder  than  words  an  intimate  ac- 
quaintance with  the  culinary  art.  Scattered  here  and 
there,  the  members  of  the  party  were  occupied  in  the 
-arrangement  of  fishing  tackle  and  the  cleaning  and  in- 
spection of  arms  preparatory  to  the  day's  sport. 

"Halt,  men/'  commanded  Tracy,  "and  listen  care- 
fully to  me.  That  camp  is  an  easy  mark,  but  the  pro- 
gram which  I  will  outline  must  be  strictly  adhered  to, 
and  if  either  of  you  show  the  least  weakness  or  fail  to 
carry  out  my  orders  Til  plug  you  first  and  hold  the 
camp  up  afterwards  alone.  Do  you  hear?" 


"Yes,  yes,  Captain,  we  hear.  We'll  do  just  as  you 
say!"  cried  both  men  in  unison. 

"Very  well,  then/'  retorted  Tracy.  "I  am  going  to 
line  'em  all  up.  Then  you  go  through  them.  Take 
all  that  you  find  on  their  persons.  Then  gather  all 
the  ammunition  and  arms  together  and  carry  them 
down  to  the  river  bank  to  be  put  aboard  the  launch, 
with  all  the  grub  in  camp.  Then  we'll  tie  them  up, 
after  changing  wardrobes,  and  vamoose  in  the  launch." 

Advancing  upon  the  camp,  -Tracy  stepped  out  in 
full  view,  and  covering  flr?t  one  and  then  another  with 
his  shotgun,  shouted  :  "Hands  up,  all,  and -line  up  alto- 
gether !" 

Taken  entirely  by  surprise  and  dismayed  by  the  cool 
daring  of  Tracy,  the  men,  dropping  their  arms,  all 
moved  to  a  common  center,  huddling  together  and 
quailing  before  the  piercing  gleam  of  the  bandit's  eagle 
eye. 

"Don't  shoot!"  pleaded  the  old  man,  "If  It's  money 
you  want,  I'll  give  it  to  you." 

"It's  money  and  arms  and  all  you've  got,"  replied 
Tracy,  "and  quick  about  it,  too.  Here,  hoboes,  go 
through  the  swells.  Line  up — line  up,  there!  The 
first  man  who  lets  his  hands  down  will  be  blown  to 
•hell!  Hear  that?" 

"Do  y  TO  ..not  know  that  you  i**e  breaking  tJi*  kwt 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  2? 

of  your  country,  young  man?"  cried  the  old  man. 
"Such  methods  cannot  succeed " 

"To  h— 1-wth  the  laws  !"  yelled  Tracy.  "I'm  an  out- 
law, and  if  you  don't  hold  your  tongue,  old  man,  I'll 
send  you  to  a  country  where  other  worms  make  laws. 
Come,  hoboes,  get  the  arms  and  other  goods  to  the 
river  bank,  and  now,  gentlemen,  we'll  tie  you  up  for 
safekeeping,  lest  you  stray  away  from  this  nice  camp 
and  get  bitten  by  some  kind- faced  muley  cow."  Say- 
ing this,  Tracy  ordered  the  cook  to  tie  his  masters 
up,  which  the  simple  soul  did  with  commendable  speed, 
but  not  without  casting  an  anxious  eye  from  time  to 
time  over  his  shoulder  at  the  impatient  Tracy,  who 
was  fingering,  with  tantalizing  coolness,  at  the  trigger 
of  his  gun. 

"Come,  Mr.  Fry,  it  takes  you  longer  to  truss  a  covey 
of  partridges  than  it  would  a  Kansas  cyclone  to  blow 
the  musk  off  a  Prohibitionist  convention.  Get  a  move 
on,  for  we'll  need  you  on  the  launch.  I  vote  myself 
hungry  for  one." 

"Me,  too,"  chimed  in  Hungry  Jim. 

"Then  off  to  the  launch,5'  rejoined  Tracy,  whilst  ex- 
amining with  an  expression  of  supreme  satisfaction 
one  of  the  beautiful  Winchesters  captured  from  the 
unrecorded  assets  of  the  Kansas  City  bank. 

"You  are  surely  not  going  to  take  our  launch?" 


28  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

whirled  the  old  man  of  the  party.    "Why,  you  wouldn't 
know  how  to  navigate  it,  boy." 

"No,  old  guy,     guess  you're  right.     The  launch'll 

have  to  navigate  us  this  trip ;  but  if  anything  happens 

»• 
to  us  we'll  try  to  save  your  things.    Here,  hobo  Hoke, 

wade  out  in  the  stream  and  bring  the  launch  in. 

The  discomfited  hobo,  unfamiliar  with  such*  pleas- 
antries as  physical  contact  with  water,  but  still  dread- 
ing the  vicious  bark  of  Tracy's  gun,  waded  into  the 
muddy  stream  and  towed  the  launch  close  to  the  bank, 
where  it  only  required  a  few  minutes  to  take  on  the 
captured  plunder. 

Then  changing  their  clothing  for  that  of  the  pris- 
oners, they  boarded  the  launch,  steamed  out  into  the 
broad  river,  and,  turning  stern  to  the  current,  were 
soon  lost  from  view  in  their  course  to  the  north. 

"Now,  hoboes,"  shell  out  the  dough!"  commanded 
Tracy  from,  his  position  in  the  stern  of  the  launch, 
where  he  sat  with  his  rifle  across  his  knees. 

Seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  in  currency  had 
been  taken  from  the  campers,  together  with  several 
watches  and  a  quantity  of  miscellaneous  jewelry.  All 
of  this  was  handed  pver  to  the  outlaw  by  the  hoboes 
with  an  abortive  assumption  of  good  nature,  for  the 
hoboes  had  hoped  to  share  at  least  the  fruits  of  their 
subserviency  to  Tracy's  boldness ;  brt  no  such  bizarre 


TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW.  2Q 

vagary 'had  crept  into  the  unclouded  min  '  ^f  the  astute 
bandit. 

"Here,  fellows,"  said  Tracy,  counting  out  some  bills, 
"here's  your  share — fifty  apiece — more  than  you  ever 
had  in  all  your  lives  and  more  .than  you'll  ever  have 
again  unless  you  meet  another  Tracy."  All  the  jewelry 
Tracy  appropriated,  mumbling  to  himself  the  while, 
"  wonder  what  those  nerveless  hounds'll  do  when  I'm 
gone  and  their  money's  blown?  Back  to  the  road 
again.  It's  a  short  step  from  a  fifty  note  in  the 
hands  of  a  bo'  to  the  old  tomato  can." 

Meanwhile  the  hoboes  were  loading  up  on  a  superior 
brand  of  old  rye,  which  they  had  captured  from  the 
-camp,  and  were  fast  drifting  into  a  state  of  blissful 
inebriacy. 

"Now's  my  chance  to  shake  these  duffers,"  mut- 
tered Tracy.  "We've  been  six  hours  on  the  river,  if 
aU  these  watches  tell  the  right  time,  and  me  for  the 
timber." 

Saying  this,  Tracy  ran  the  launch  ashore,  and, 
leaving  his  fellow-passengers  to  finish  out  their 
drunken  sleep,  sprang  lightly  from  the  launch  and 
disappeared  in  the  tall  timber  which  lined  the  bank  of 
the  stream. 

Tracy  was  next  heard  of  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where 
for  a  time  he  was  supposed  to  have  been  connected 


3O  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

• 

• 

with  the  notorious  "Deer  Creek  Gang."  This,  how- 
ever, has  been  more  or  less  veiled  in  uncertainty. 
Later  on  he  appeared  in  Chicago,  where,  arrested  for 
some  trivial  offense,  he  served  a  short  time  in  one  of 
the  Illinois  penal  institutions.  The  .summer  of  1895 
found  Harry  Tracy  in  Southwest  Montana,  where  he 
became  identified  with  a  band  of  desperate  cattle 
rustlers.  At  this  time  all  that  section  of  the  country 
known  as  the  "Foothills  of  the  Rockies"  was  infested 
with  daring  gangs  of  cattle  thieves  and  desperados  of 
every  description.  Cut  off  from  all  civilized  society, 
Tracy  found  a  congenial  association  in  this  lawless 
element,  which  not  only  afforded  him  ample  revenue 
for  the  indulgence  of  his  acquired  reckless  mode  of 
life,  but  also  insured  trim  safety  from  the  pursuit  of 
the  officers  of  the  law,  who  in  droves  would  hunt  down 
a  lone  fugitive,  but  whose  courage  was  -never  equal  to 
the  task  of  pursuing  outlaws  banded  together  for 
mutual  protection.  For  several  months  Tracy  oper- 
ated in  the  "Foot  Hills,"  gaining  money  with  little 
effort  and  spending  it  with  a  lavish  hand.  From  time 
to  time  his  mind  would  revert  to  his  old  home  and 
the  beautiful  girl  that  he  had  left  to  grieve  for  him 
in  her  lonely  retreat  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  far-away 
Ozark  Mountains.  Time  and  *gain,  when  flush  with 
tht'  spoils  of  his  forays,  he  contemplated  sending  for 


THE  OUTLAW; 


her  to  join  him  and  share  the  fortunes  of  his  hazard* 
ous  life;  but  each  time  he  was  deterred  by  the  appall- 
ing thought  of  the  danger  to  which  she  would  be 
exposed,  and  buoyed  up  by  the  hope  that  good  fortune 
would  in  time,  lead  him  into  some  less  dangerous  avo- 
cation, he  permitted  time  to  glide  by  until  poor  Genie, 
sad  and  heartsick,  felt  the  desolate  days  growing 
longer  and  longer  and  the  weeks  stretching,  out  their 
dire  monotony  into  months  and  years  of  weary,  hope- 
less waiting. 

Impelled  by  a  desire  to  change  his  mode  of  life, 
Tracy  bethought  himself  of  opportunities  which  might 
develop  for  him  in  Salt  Lake  City,  of  whose  great  in- 
dustries and  mining  plants  he  had  heard  much  talk. 
So,  with  that  impetuosity  which  was  one  of  his  lead- 
ing characteristics,  Tracy  no  sooner  conceived  the 
idea  than  he  put  it  into  effect,  and  in  1897  he  set  out 
for  Salt  Lake  City 


CHAPTER  III. 
TRACY'S  FIRST  ESCAPE  FROM  THE  UTAH  PENITENTIARY. 

Tracy  arrived  in  Salt  Lake  City  in  1897,  and  after 
committing  a  number  of  holdups  and  burglaries  was 
caught  and  convicted  of  burglary  and  sentenced  to  a 
year's  imprisonment  in  the  Utah  Penitentiary.  But 
Tracy  was  not  destined  to  serve  out  his  sentence,  for 
with  his  usual  daring,  ingenuity  and  luck,  he  made 
his  escape,  with  several  other  convicts,  after  serving 
only  a  few  months. 

.On  the  morning  of  Tracy's  escape  the  gang  was 
working  in  the  rock  quarry.  Four  convicts,  one  of 
whom  was  Tracy,  were  in  charge  of  one  guard,  who 
was  armed  with  a  double-barreled  shotgun  and  stood 
off  at  some  distance  from  the  prisoners.  Tracy  watched 
every  opportunity  to  catch  the  guard  unawares  and 
disarm  him,  but  the  guard,  knowing  the  desperate 
character  of  the  men,  was  ever  on  the  alert  and  kept 
them  at  a  safe  distance. 

Finally,  however,  Tracy  resorted  to  a  ruse  which 
gave  him  his  opportunity.  He  slipped* his  shovel  in 

32 


TRACY  ESCAPES  FROM  UTAH  PENITENTIARY. 

Page  33. 


ffee  team  &t  a  ro«k  and  btnt  it  so  badly  tfe*t  it  wti  ae 

longer  fit  for  use.    He  called  the  guard's  attention  to 
the  bent  shovel  and  asked  him  what  he  -should  do,  as  % 
he  could  no  longer  use  it. 

"I  will  help  you  to  mend  it,"  said  the  guard,  for- 
getting for  the  moment  his  customary  cautiousness 
and  approaching  too  near  to  Tracy  for  the  use  of  the 
long  weapon  he  carried.  This  was  just  the  chance 
that  Tracy  had  been  scheming  for,  and  as  soon  as  the 
guard  reached  his  side,  quick  as  a  flash  Tracy  drew 
from  his  bosom  a  big  revolver,  with  which  he  cov- 
ered the  guard,  ordering  him  to  drop  his  gun  and 
throw  up  his  hands,  all  of  which  the  surprised  guard 
was  only  too  glad  to  do.  Then  Tracy  forced  the 
£uard  to  remove  his  clothing,  in  which  Tracy  dressed 
himself,  Tracy  then  took  the  guard's  gun,  telling  him 
that  if  he  made  any  outcry  until  he  was  out  of  sight 
he  would  return  and  silence  him  forevar.  With  this 
Tracy  and  the  other  ttyree  convicts  strode  boldly  away. 
Shortly  after  the  escape  the  Sheriff  organized  a  posse 
and  gave  pursuit,  but  none  of  the  convicts  was  ever 
captured,  probably  because  they  separated  after  leav- 
ing the  quarry,  one  convict  named  Sant  going  with 
Tracy  and  the  other  two  striking  out  alone  for  a  place 
of  safety:  Tracy  and  Sant  traveled  at  night  and  con- 
I'7**  during1  the  day  i*  th* 


tRACV,  THE  OUTLAW.  J5 

•n  petty  depredations  committed  upon  farmers  along1 
their  route.  After  they  had  put  a  sufficient  distance 
between  them  and  the  prison  from  which  they  had 
escaped,  and  concluding  that  the  posse  had  given  up 
the  chase,  Tracy  decided  upon  a  bold  stroke  which 
would  take  him  speedily  out  of  that  section  of  the 
country  to  a  safe  refuge.  With  this  end  in  view,  they 
held  up  a  farmer  in  his  home,  securing  money,  cloth- 
ing and  a  supply  of  food,  and,  taking  a  fast  horse  and 
buggy  from  the  barn,  made  off  toward  Colorado. 

"If  you  will  keep  your  mouth  shut  and  give  no 
alarm  for  a  few  days,"  said  Tracy  as  he  parted  from 
the  "farmer,  "I'll  see  that  you  get  your  horse  and  buggy 
back  in  good  condition,  and  under  the  seat  of  the 
buggy  I  will  put  enough  money  to  more  than  pay 
you  for  what  I  have  taken;  but  if  you  squeal — and  I 
will  know  it — I'll  come  back  here  some  day  when  you 
least  expect  it  and  blow  your  block  off  and  burn  your 
house  down." 

The  farmer,  frightened  nearly  out  of  his  wits,  ^as- 
sured the  bandit  that  he  would  say  nothing  and  truat 
Tracy  to  keep  his  word,  which,  sure  enough,  he  did, 
for  a  week  later  the  horse  and  buggy  was  returned 
to  the  farmer  by  a  man  who  found  it  at  Parley's  Sta- 
tion, with  a  note,  containing  a  $5.00  bill,  pinned  on 
the  harness  of  the  horse  and  directing  whoever  found 


36  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

it  to  keep  the  $5.00  and  return  the  rig  to  the  farmer 
whose  address  was  given.  When  the  farmer  received 
his  horse  and  looked  under  the  seat  he  found  $25. oo, 
which  was  more  than  enough  to  indemnify  him  for 
all  the  bandit  had  taken. 

A  significant  fact  in  connection  with  this  erratic 
transaction  of  the  outlaw  was  that  the  evening  before 
the  man  found  the  farmer's  rig  at  Parley's  Station 
two  horsemen  were  held  up  in  that  vicinity  and  their 
money,  jewelry  and  horses  taken. 

Tracy,  still  in  company  with  Lant,  was  next  heard 
of  in  Colorado,  where  he  joined  a  desperate  band  of 
border  thieves  knOwn  as  the  "Powder  Springs/'  or 
"Hole  in  the  Wall/'  gang.  Routt  county,  Colorado, 
near  the  Utah  and  Wyoming  lines,  was  the  territory 
in  which  this  gang  operated  principally  at  this  time, 
and  their  depredations  became  so  bold  and  frequent 
that  the  law-abiding  citizens  of  the  country  organized 
for  mutual  protection;  but  no  effective  steps  were 
taken  to  break  up  the  outlaw  band  until  the  situation 
became  aggravated  by  the  wanton  killing  of  a  lad 
named  William  Strong.  This  was. the  culminating  out- 
rage which  determined  the  citizens  of  Northwestern 
Colorado  to  follow  up  and  exterminate  the  gang  at 
any  cost.  Sheriff's  posses  were  immediately  organ- 
ized, and  a  large  body  of  men,  breaking  up  into  numer- 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  37 

ous  parties,  took  the  field  against  the  outlaws,  who, 
being  outnumbered  many  times,  attempted  at  first  to 
escape,  but  were  so  closely  trailed  that  a  battle  was 
eventually  forced  upon  them,  and  which  was  fought 
with  great  desperation  by  the  bandits,  resulting,  how- 
ever, in  their  final  defeat  and  rout,  but  not  until  one 
of  the  posse  was  killed  and  several  wounded,  a  few 
only  of  the  outlaws  sustaining  slight  injuries.  After 
the  battle  the  bandits  were  followed  up  by  a  large  posse 
of  Utah  militia  and  Colorado  cowboys,  under  the  lead- 
ership of  Deputy  Sheriff  Farnham.  Four  of  the  bandits, 
among  them  Tracy  and  Lant,  were  captured,  and  one 
of  them,  Jack  Bennett  by  name,  was  lynched  near  the 
Colorado  line,  as  he  was  supposed  to  have  been  the 
murderer  of  the  boy  William  Strong. 

Tracy  and  Lant  were  tried,  convicted  and  sentenced 
to  terms  in  prison. 

On  their  way  to  prison  Tracy  made  his  escape,  after 
a  desperate  fight  with  the  Sheriff  and  three  guards. 
Tracy  snatched  a  gun  from  one  of  the  guards,  at  the 
same  time  striking  him  down  with  the  butt  of  the  gun, 
and  then  coverim;  the  ~4Aers  ordered  them  to  drop  their 
arms  and  hold  u^  *iiar  hand' ,  wnich  they  did.  Tracy, 
then  proceeeV  }>  beat  the  guards  into  unconsciousness, 
kin^  "Between  the  ponderous  blows  he  dealt  them 
*  She/  had  ink'rcated  him  and  his  companions  and 


JpS  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

that  he  would  leave  them  with  something  to  ruminate 
over  in  the  future.  He  then  bound  and  gagged  the 
Sheriff  and  took  his  departure,  well  supplied  with 
arms  and  ammuniton.  Another  large  posse  then  took 
the  field,  and  Tracy  was  again  captured  while  alone 
and  asleep  in  the  woods.  For  about  ten  days  Tracy 
was  held  in  custody  at  the  penitentiary,  when  one 
morning  he  suddenly  sprang  upon  a  guard,  took  his 
gun,  clubbed  him  nearly  to  death,  and  again  made 
his  escape. 

After  this  escape  Tracy  made  his  way  to  Colorado 
Springs,  where  he  was  joined  by  two  other  desperados, 
and  then  began  a  series  of  hold-ups  which  startled  even 
that  community,  accustomed  as  it  was  to  border  out- 
rages. Their  last  and  boldest  robbery  before  a  posse 
was  organized  to  capture  them  was  the  hold-up  of  a 
saloon,  in  which  they  robbed  the  proprietor  and  all 
the  inmates.  Learning  that  the  Sheriff,  with  a  strong- 
posse,  was  after  them,  the  bandits  sought  refuge  in  a 
cabin  a  few  miles  from  the  town.  They  were  soon 
located,  however,  and  Sheriff  Conrad,  with  his  pom, 
appeared  at  tlie  place  and  made  a  search  on  ;the  out- 
side of  the  premises,  but  which  revea  ed  nothing  sat- 
isfactory. Emboldened  by  the  belief  tint  Tracy  and 
his  companions  had  left  the  place,  f!ie  Sheriff 
preached  the  cabin  to  int(*r^iV"  .cr  in  01 


ORE-  OOTEB.W.  39 

to  ffet  what  in  formation  he  could  concerning  the  move- 
ments of  the  outlaws,  but  no  sooner  had  the  door 
been  pushed  open  than  the  posse  was  met  with  a 
fusillade  from  the  inside,  and  Sheriff  Conrad  fell  dead 
and  another  officer  dropped  mortally  wounded.  The 
posse  fired  one  volley  into  the  cabin,  killing  the  owner 
and  Tracy's  two  companions,  and  then  took  to  their 
heels  without  entering  the  cabin.  When  they  had  run 
far  enough  away  to  insure  safety  to  themselves  from 
Tracy's  flying  bullets  as  he  stood  in  the  open  doorway 
firing  at  their  retreating  forms,  they  settled  down 
under  cover  of  the  timber  and  opened  up  a  harmless 
fusillade  upon  the  cabin,  during  which  Tracy  walked 
leisurely  off  into  the  brush. 

Tracy  next  appeared  in  Montana,  where  his  various 
robberies  followed  one  another  in  rapid  succession. 

Paradoxical  as  it  may  seem,  Tracy  possessed  a 
curious  sense  of  friendly  obligations — a  system  of 
ethics  pre-eminently  all  his  own  when  considered  in 
relation  with  his  other  traits  of  character.  He  took 
queer  fancies  to  people  and  often  selected  from  among 
his  victims  some  who  later  on  became  beneficiaries  of 
his  other  depreciations,  as  in  the  case  of  the  farmer 
whose  rig  he  returned  with  more  than  money  enough 
to  reimburse  him  for  his  losses.  It  was  to  this  peculiar 
trait  o*  the  peerless  outlaw  that  a  young  man  named 


40  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW, 

Kelly  was  pardoned  by  the  Governor  from  the  Mon- 
tana Penitentiary.  Tracy  had  held  up  a  saloon,  se- 
curing a  large  quantity  of  cash  and  some  jewelry. 
Amongst  the  pieces  of  jewelry  captured  was  a  watch 
belonging  to  the  barkeeper. 

Kelly  knew  that  Tracy  had  held  up  the  saloon,  and 
asked  him  for  the  watch,  stating  that  he  was  a  friend 
of  the  barkeeper  and  wanted  to  give  him  back  his 
watch.  Tracy  gave  the  watch  to  Kelly,  but  when  the 
watch  was  found  in  his  possession  he  was  arrested  for 
holding  up  the  saloon  and  sentenced  to  five  years  in 
the  penitentiary.  Several  months  later,  Tracy  having 
learned  of  the  mishap  to  Kelly,  prepared  a  sworn  state- 
ment in  which  he  admitted  having  held  up  the  saloov. 
himself  alone,  and  he  gave  such  a  minute  and  circum- 
stantial description  of  the  hold-up  that  it  carried  con- 
viction to  the  mind  of  the  Governor,  who  immediately 
signed  a  pardon  for  Kelly. 

Tracy  was  evidently  a  man  of  fair  education,  vhich, 
coupled  with  a  brain  of  marvelous  subtlety  and  a 
wonderful  faculty  for  observation,  gave  him  a  great 
advantage  over  the  ordinary  criminal  in  all  of  hh  oper- 
ations. 

At  this  period  of  his  career  he  was  described  as  a 
splendid  specimen  of  manhood,  rather  tall  of  stature 
and  of  closely  knit,  athletic  build,  Reticert  with  strap 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  41 

gers,  he  was  always  jolly  and  cheerful,  even  to  the 
verge  of  exuberance,  when  in  the  company  of  friends, 
and  he  was  ar  especial  favorite  with  the  fair  sex, 
wherever  he  was  thrown  arrongst  them.  He  could  be 
extremely  courteous  in  speech  and  manner,  and  evinced 
a  marked  fondness  for  children,  to  whom  he  was  un- 
varyingly attentive  with  his  caresses  and  little  gifts. 
But,  notwithstanding  these  exterior  signs  of  an  affable 
disposition,  to  the  practical  observation  of  the  expert 
physiogtiomist  there  lurked  in  the  cold  glitter  of  his 
gray  eye  and  broad,  determined  jaw  a  sleeping  demon 
which  to  awaken  spelled  instant  death.  His  resource- 
fulness was  without  precedent,  his  cunning  almost  sug- 
gestive of  supernatural  aid  and  the  vicious  bark  of  his 
ever-ready  rifle  and  revolver  as  fatal  as  the  sudden 
stroke  oi  a  blind  rattler  in  July. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

TRACY  WITH  f  HE  CATTLE  RUSTLERS. 
• 

Tracy  next  appeared  in  Southwestern  Montana  as  a 
•member  of  a  gang  of  cattle  rustlers  and  horse  thieves. 
The  leader  of  this  gang  when  Tracy  first  joined  it  was 
a  half-breed  Indian,  but  soon  the  members  of  the 
gang,  all  of  whom  were  fugitives  from  the  law  like 
Tracy,  recognized  in  his  splendid  physique,  utter  dar- 
ing and  recklessness  in  the  face  of  danger  and  phe- 
nomenal resourcefulness*  in  every  emergency  a  new 
leader,  and  the  half-breed  chieftain,  Shortatl,  was  sup- 
planted by  Tracy. 

Shortairs  wife,  a  young  Indian  woman  and  daughter 
of  a  chief,  was  considered  a  belle  of  no  mean  pretcn- 
tiena  a*  bellas  go  in  that  part  of  the  country.  I» 
course  of  time  the  squaw  became  enamored  of  Tracy, 
and  did  not  fail  to  betray  her  preference  in  many  ways, 
and  to  which  Tracy  was  not  slow  to  respond,  although 
in  all  his  ramblings  he  had  never  forgotten  G«ue 
Carter,  who  wat  awaiting  hi*  tall  amidst  the 
mitia*  »£  life  in  the  bosom  of  the 


TRACY  ESCAPES  ON  HORSEBACK. 
43- 


44  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

The  gang  at  this  time  made  their  headquarters  in  a 
rambling  log  structure  on  a  remote  ranch.  From  this 
point  they  made  their  raids  and  brought  their  plunder 
until  disposed  of. 

.  One  clear  and  beautiful  night  the  gang  returned 
from  a  raid,  secured  their  plunder,  put  up  their  horses 
and  in  a  short  time  had  given  themselves  over  to  a 
wild  debauch,  which  was  generally  the  culminating 
feature  of  a  successful  raid.  Demoniacal  shrieks,  hor- 
rible oaths  and  blasphemous  boasting  sounded  in  harsh 
dissonance  with  the  serene  stillness  of  the  beautiful 


Tracy,  always  wary  and  abstemious  when  necessary. 
had  kept  his  appetite  for  drink  under  perfect  control. 
He  had  become  tired  of  the  gang  and  decided  to  desert: 
them,  taking  Shortall's  wife  along  with  him. 

About  his  waist  Tracy  wore  a  belt  full  of  ammuni- 
tion and  from  which  two  formidable  revolvers  swung 
in  holsters. 

Tracy  took  Shortall's  wife  and  hastened  with  her  to 
the  corral,  and,  leaning  his  rifle  against  the  fence, 
started  to  saddle  and  bridle  his  horse.  Just  as  Tracy 
was  pulling  the  saddle  girth,  Shortall,  who  missed  his 
wife,  rushed  around  the  corner  of  the  corral,  and, 
taking  in  the  situation  at  a  glance,  uttered  a  wild  In- 
dian yell,  at  the  same  time  raising  his  revolver;  but 


TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW  45 

the  vicious  bark  of  Tracy's  revolver  rang  out  first,  and 
Shortall  fell  with  a  bullet  scjuarely  planted  between  his 
gieaming  eyes. 

T'le  noise  of  the  shots  attracted  the  attention  of  two 
f  the  inebriated  revelers,  who  a  moment  later 

..eared  at  the  end  of  the  conral  just  as  Tracy  sprung 

t  the  saddle,  reached  down  and  lifted  the  woman  to 
the  horse  and  started  at  breakneck  speed  for  the  rugged 
country  in  the  distance.  The  drunken. rustlers,  seeing 
'  'ecd'ng  corpse  of  their  companion  lying  where  it 
ha  1  fallen  beneath  the  unerring  aim  of  the  bandit  chief, 
sent  a  hail  of  bullets  after  the  fleeing  couple ;  but  their 
shots  went  wild,  and  soon  Tracy  and  his  enamorata 
were  beyond  range  of  the  rifle. 

But  this  escape  was  not  destined  to  be  accompanied 
with  the  same  good  fortune  which  usually  attended  the 
bold  attempts  of  the  favored* outlaw.  .The  faithful 
horse,  weakening  under  the  heavy«lpad  and  exhausted 
from  the  high  speed  to  which  he  was  constantly  urged 
by  the  relentless  prodding  of  spurs  staggered  and  fell 
in  his  tracks. 

"Well,"  said  Trac,.  'the  hor  ,,  is  done  for.  There's 
nothing  left  for  us  now  but  a  battle.  Let  us  get  be- 
hind these  rocks  here  alongside  the  trail.  If  I  don't 
clean  'em  out  from  that  point  of  vantage  I'm  not  the 
Tracy  I  usetf  to  be." 


4*  TRACY,  ram 

Saying  this,  Tracy  led  the  squaw  to  the  little  barri- 
cade and  awaited  the  approach  of  pursuers,  the  sound 
of  who,se  horses'  hoofs  were  distinctly  audible  in  the 
distance  .  When  the  pursuers  reached  the  spot  where 
lay  the  fallen  horse  they  stopped  for  a  few  moments, 
then,  blind  with  rage  and  disappointment,  they  looked 
around  in  every  direction  without  discovering  any  signs 
of  the  fugitives. 

For  an  instant  the  muzzle  .of  Tracy's  rifle  might 
have  been  seen  peeping  over  the  crest  of  a  rock  from 
which  it  as  quickly  disappeared.  Why  Tracy  did  not 
epen  fire  is  a  matter  of  conjecture.  Probably  he 
thought  they  would  go  away  without  discovering  him, 
and  in  this  way  he  would  not  expose  the  squaw  to  the 
danger  of  battle. 

"They've  escaped  on  foot!"  yelled  one  of  the  pur- 
sucrs.  "We'll  follow  them  intp  the  foothills.  We  must 
get  that  Tracy,  for  if  he  escapes  with  that  squaw  he 
will  train  her  to  get  him  all  the  ammunition  he  wants 
and  some  day  hell  come  back  when  we  are  least  look- 
ing for  him  and  clean  us  all  out." 

As  soon  as  the  sound  of  their  horses'  hoofs  died 
away  in  the  distance  Tracy  and  the  woman  started  back 
to  the  corral,  where  all  was  as  still  as  the  tomb,  the  re- 
maining outlaws,  having  succumbed  to  the  effects  of 
their  debauch,  were  lying  around  in  a  profound 


TRACY,   THE   ©UTLAW.  $% 

drunken  stupor.  Meanwhile,  the  men  wh*  had  6l*rte4 
to  seek  the  fugitives  in  the  foothills  soon  gave  up  the 
chase,  and  were  returning  to  the  ranch  while  Tracy  was 
busy  saddling  and  bridling  fresh  horses  in  the  corral. 
Just  as  Tracy  was  leading  the  two  horses  from  the 
corral  the  pursuers  rode  up,  and  in  an  instant  two 
tongues  of  fire,  with  a  sharp  ring,  "shot  out  from  the 
muzzles  of  their  rifles,  and  the  squaw  fell  prone  upon 
the  ground,  writhing  in  the  agony  of  death.  Quick 
as  a  flash,  and  with,  that  unerring  aim  which  never 
failed  him,  Tracy  opened  fire  with  both  revolvers,  and 
the  two  bandits  tumbled  from  their  saddles— dead. 

Tracy  lifted  the  squaw  in  his  arms,  carried  her  to  a 
corner  of  the  corral,  where  he  laid  her  out  on  a  pile  of 
dried  grass,  and,  reloading  his  guns,  he  gently  patted 
the  cold  cheeks  of  the  dead  woman,  gave  her  one  last, 
searching  look  from  his  cold,  steel-gray  eyes,  which 
for  a  moment  seemed  to  light  up  with  a  flash  of  sym- 
pathy, then  vaulted  into  his  saddle  and  galloped 


CHAPTER  V. 

TRACY  AT  CRIPPLE  CREEK. 

Several  months  later  found  Tracy  in  Cripple  Cm. 
with  -plenty  of  money  and   neatly   appareled   H 
fashion   of  "civilized   life.      He   was   here    kiu 
Harry  Ward,  a  quiet,  retiring  sort  of  a  young  man,  a 
hale-fellow-well-met,  polite,  affable  and  liberal  in  hi.. 
expenditures,  though  not  riotous.    When  not  frequent- 
ing the  numerous  gambling  houses  of  this  great  mining 
camp  he  was  often  seen  on  the  streets,  accompanied 
by  a  young  girl,  tall  and  willowy,  and  whose  beautiful 
blue  eyes  and  fresh  complexion  constituted  a  type  of 
female  charm  well  calculated  to  engage  the  attention 
of  the  hetejrc^Rotie  population  of  the  noted  camp  at 
tb*t  time. 

Exactly  wba&  em4  kmv  Genie  Garter  joia^d  Tracy, 
if  ever  known,  ha*  nev$r  appeared  in  any  of  the  annals 
dealing  with  the  adventures  of  the  great  outlaw;  but 
the  inference  is  that  after  leaving  the  rustlers*  ranch 
Tracy  committed  one  or  a  series  of  robberies,  netting 
ten  a  Jraadeoare  ram,  and  be  Ham  dofci&d  to  keep  U* 


MOOT*  mx-MKTTY  MfciiffAfc 


JO  TRACY,  TH«  OUTLAW. 

pledge  to  Genie  and  sent  for  her  to  meet  him  at  Cripple 
Creek  as  Mrs.  Ward. 

Lacking  only  early  opportunity,  but  in  every  other 
way  fitted  to  adorn  the  highest  spheres  of  polite  so- 
ciety, 'Genie  kept  herself  in  almost  rigid  seclusion  in 
Cripple  Creek,  and  was  rarely  seen  except  in  the  com- 
pany of  Tracy ;  but  on  one  occasion  some  unlooked-for 
emergency  called  her  from  lodgings  and  she  saun- 
tered out  alone.  It  was  in  the  early  evening*.  The 
streets  were  all  brilliantly  lighted  and  the  gambling 
dens  were  just  beginning  their  operations  for  the 
night.  As  'Genie  threaded  her  way  through  the  motley 
crowd  on  the  main  thoroughfare  a  dapper  little  fron- 
tier dude,  to  whose  self-made  reputation  for  "utter 
badness"  clung  the  tradition  of  countless  graveyards, 
wa*  led  by  his  inordinate  vanity  into  the  fatal  folly  of 
casting-  an  impudent  glance  at  the  girl  as  she  passed 
ene  of  the  gilded  saloons  which  lined  the  roadway. 
Looking  neither  to  the  right  nor  left  Genie  paid  no 
attention  to  the  insolence  of  the  man  until  her  ears 
were  assailed  by  a  gtoTs  insinuation  which  brought 
the  blood  tingling  to  her  ehaeks.  Slopping  suddenly, 
and  without^  a  moHit&t's  hesitation,  Genie  faced  her 
taunting  assailant  and  delivered  him  a  ringing  flap 
square  in  th*  face.  Faammg  with  anger  and  diwrnrited 
lyjlMfa^^ 


«ACY,  TH1  miTLAW.  ft 

masher  bundled  up  his  wrath  and  sought  refuge  in  the 
saloon,  where  he  became  loud  in  his  denunciation  of 
the  woman  who  had  thus  humiliated  him  and  of  the 
fellow  Ward  who  was  her  husband.  This  man  had  at 
one  time  held  an  office  as  deputy  marshal  in  a  bad 
mining  camp,  and  the  number  of  desperados  that  he 
had  brought  to  bay  was  one  of  the  leading  features  in 
his  litany  of  braggadocio. 

Half  an  hour  later  Tracy  walked  into  the  saloon 
where  the  ex-deputy  marshal  was  still  venting  his  ire 
in  fearsome  threats  against  Tracy. 

"See  here,  Mister  Bad  Man,"  said  Tracy,  quietly 
walking  up  alongside  of  the  ex-deputy  at  the  bar,  "FU 
see  you  in  the  morning  when  your  jag  has  worn  off, 
and  if  you  think  your  nerve  is  as  stout  as  your  hot  air 
would  imply  you'll  find  that  I'm  as  good  a  subject  to 
test  it  on  as  any  other  you  have  ever  run  up  against," 

Tracy  was  armed,  but  made  no  attempt  to  shoot, 
although  the  ex-champion  of  law  and  order  reached 
for  his  gun,  which,  however,  was  quickly  taken  from 
him  by  the  bystanders,  and  Tracy  walked  quietly  out  of 
the  place. 

Early  next  morning,  just  as  the  rising  sun  was 
painting  the -hill  tops  with  its  crimson  glow,  Tracy 
came  strolling  along  dowr  the  main  street  towards 
the  same  saloon.  The  e^-deputy,  whose  debauch  had 


$3  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW 

about  spent  its  force,  was  just  leaving 
he  was  hailed  by  Tracy. 

"Now's  your  time,  Mr.  Bad  Man!"  cried  Tracy,  and 
while  the  ex-deputy,  who  had  drawn  his  gun  and  was 
making  a  frantic  effort  to  get  into  the  doorway  of  the 
saloon  and  shoot  from  cover,  Tracy's  arm  shot  out,  a 
loud  report  followed,  and  the  ex-deputy's  corpse  went 
to  swell  the  population  of  the  numerous  graveyards 
that  his  heroism  had  founded  among  the  mining  camps 
of  the  wild  and  wooly  West. 

Tracy,  in  this  instance,  and  the  only  time  in  hi^ 
whole  career,  for  some  unaccountable  reason  surren- 
dered to  the  authorities  without  a  fight.  Perhaps  it 
was  upon  the  advice  of  Genie,  who,  believing  that  the 
evidence  of  the  many  persons  who  heard  the  threats  of 
the  ex-deputy  against  the  life~of  Tracy  would  exoner- 
ate him  without  a  trial,  but  such  was  not  the  case. 
Tracy  was  locked  up  and  indicted,  with  every  prospect 
of  conviction,  for  murder.  The  dead  man  had  a  num- 
ber of  influential  friends  who  exerted  every  effort  to 
bring  Tracy  to  trial  and  secure  his  conviction. 

During  the  short  time-  that  Tracy  was  confined  Genie 
was  with  him  as  often  as  the  rules  of  the  prison  would 
permit,  and  during  one  cf  these  interviews,  watching 
her  chance,  a  dark,  ominous-looking  object  was  slipped 
between  the  bars  by  the  devoted  girl,  and  the  outlaw 


GENIE   AIDS  TRACY  TO   ESCAPE   FROM   JAIL  AT   CRIPPLE 
CREEK. 


Page  53. 


|4  TRACY,   TfitS  OVTLAW. 

was  again  a  match  for  a  whole  regiment  of  militia  airct 

an  army  of  Sheriffs  with  their  pcsres. 

During  Genie's  visits  Tra 

through  the  Lars  of  his  cell  door,  his  operations  .being 
,1  :rcm  the  eyes  of  the"  ja'.lcr  by  Genie's  skirts, 
lie  held  dexterously  w"ih  this  end  in  view. 

•  ns  read  -   for 


"Now,  if  you  will  be  perfectly  quiet  remarked 
Tracy,  "and  offer  no  useless  resistance  no  harm  will 
befall  you."  Tracy  proceeded  to  disarrc  the  man,  and 
adjusting  a  pair  of  hamlcujs  ar.ct  leg:rons,  which  he 
took  from  the  wall  outside,  he  gagged  him  with  a  stick 
of  wood  and  then  left  the  jail  without  further  hin- 
drance. 

Once  free,  Tracy  hastened  to-a"  secluded  spot  some 
distance  from  the  jail,  where  he  found  Genie  await- 
ing him  with  two  horses.  For  a  moment  Tracy  stood 
..clasping  the  girl  to  his  breast,  kissing  her  and  gently 
stroking  her  beautiful  tresses,  which  sparkled  like  spun 
jold  in  the  rays  of  the  rising  sun. 

"Good  girl !  Brave  girl,  Genie,  and  now  let  us  turn 
our  backs  forever  on  this  cursed  place." 


TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW.  *  55 

A  moment  later  then  horses'  hoofs  were  beating 
the  joyous  notes  of  freedom  on  the  surface  of  the  hard 
roadway  leading  out  of  Cripple  Creek. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  MULE  TRAIN  HOLD-UP. 

Several  days  after  leaving  Cripple  Creek,  Tracy  sold 
the  jaded  horses  to  a  ranchman,  and  they  then  plunged 
recklessly  on  foot  into  the  stretch  of  wild  territory 
leading  to  the  Green  River  Country..  For  several 
weeks  they  wandered  through  this  wild  country,  now 
winding  through  deep  canons,  now  traveling  on  moun- 
tainside, and  always  avoiding  any  direction  which 
might  lead  them  to  the  habitations  of  men. 

In  time,  however,  the  hardships  began  to  bear  heav- 
ily upon  the  girl,  although  she  uttered  no  complaint; 
but  her  fast*  failing  strength  and  lagging  footsteps 
were  0ot  tost  upon  the  watchful  eye  of  Tracy,  who 
bit  usual  daciei vee%es  when  once  an  kka  took 
of  hit  mind  determined  to  adopt  a  plan 
wMch,  although  entailing  a  topomry  separation, 
woul4  afford  Genie  an  ©ppottunity  to  return  to  chili* 
zation,  where  she  could  recuperate  her  strength  and 
'livt  ia  a  manner  sate  befitdag  the  tea  t»rdy  coast** 

09  nCf 


TRACY   WAITING  FOR  THE   MULE  TRAIN. 
Page  57- 


58  -     ^»b%eir,  THI 

"Genie,  we'll  strike  for  a  trail  leading  from  one  of 
the  big  mines,  and  then  you  may  leave  ^the  rest  to  me. 
I'll  get  you  out  of  this.  You  shall  go  to  Denver  with 
plenty  of  money  and  rest  up.  I  will  put  space  enough 
between  me  and  the  posses  which  will  surely  follow 
to  insure  my  safety,  and  then- we  will  join  again.'1 

The  November  nights  were  getting  cold  and  the 
fugitives  suffered  much  from  exposure,  sleeping  out 
in  the  frosty  air,  with  no  cover  but  that  afforded  by 
the  broad  expanse  of  the  starlit  skies.  In  a  few  days 
they  reached  a  narrow  pass  in  the  mountains  through 
which  the  mule  trains  carrying  provisions  and  other 
merchandise  to  the  Yellow  Lode  Mine  were  in  the 
habit  of  passing.  Here  they  waited  for  the  vagaries  of 
fortune  to  throw  something  in  their  way.  Nor  did 
ffiey  have  to- wait  long — only  a  day — when  Tracy,  from 
a  prominence  formed  by  a  jutting  point  of  rock,  sighted 
a  mule  train  slowly  winding  along  towards  them 
through  the  pass. 

"Now,  Genie,"  said  Tracy,  "they  will  soon  be  along, 
and  while  I  hold  tjjem  quiet  from  my  position  here  on 
this  rock  you  search  them  ana  their  baggage  for  meney 
jid  take  all  in  sight." 

The  outfit  consisted  ot  two  men  besides  the  driver 
and  the  guard,  who  was  an  ex-deputy  marshal  and  a 
lawrably.  knowu  for  tried  courage. 


MULE  TRAIN  HOLD-UP. 

Page  59. 


6O  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

As  the  train  approached  the  men  saw  Tracy,  who 
was  sitting  on  the  projection  of  rock  in  full  view,  with 
his  rifle  concealed  close  beside  him.  Tracy's  manner 
and  the  reckless  daredeviltry  of  his  exposed  position 
was  well  calculated  to  disarm  suspicion,  and  the  quarry 
came  creeping  along  in  serene  ignorance  of  what  was 
in  store  for  them. 

Just  when  the  men  of  the  train  approached  within  a 
dozen  paces  of  the  bandit  he  suddenly  threw  up  two 
revolvers  and  cried  out  in  a  tone  which  left  no  uncer- 
tainty as  to  his  determination  to  be  obeyed : 

"Halt  there ;  throw  down  your  arms  and  dismount, 
all  of  you!" 

Quickly  realizing  that  there  was  no  wisdom  in  oppo- 
sition, the  men  did  as  they  were  bidden. 

"There,  now/'  continued  Tracy,  "line  up  there  along- 
side the  road,  all  of  you,  and  hold  your  hands  up." 

At  a  signal  from  Tracy,  Genie  began  the  search, 
going  through  their  pockets  and  deftly  examining  the 
packs  until  all  the  available  money  was  gathered  in. 

During  the  search  the  guard,  taking  advantage  of  a 
moment  when  it  seemed  that  Tracy's  attention  was  oc- 
cupied with  Genie's'  work,  made  a  move  as  if  to  re- 
claim his  gun,  which  was  lying  oi_  the  ground  a  pace 
or  two  in  front  of  him. 

Quick  as  a  flash  a  shot  rang  out  and  the  guard's 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  8* 

arm  fell  limp  by  his  side.  Tracy  had  driven  a  bullet 
through  his  elbow. 

"The  next  time  I  shoot,"  shouted  Tracy,  "it  won't 
be  for  your  wings.  Now,  look  out !"  Then,  calling  to 
Genie,  he  continued : 

"Collect  their  arms,  Kid,  and  bring  them  all  to  me." 

"This  is  hard  lines  for  four  old-timers  like  us  to  be 
held  up  by  a  pair  of  tenderfeet,"  groaned  the  wounded 
guard,  ruefully. 

"I  like  that,"  retorted  Tracy,  roaring  with  laughter. 

"That's  right,  pardner,  we've  tender  feet  all  right, 
and  when  you  come  to  look  for  us  you'll  find  us  limp- 
ing along  over  the  cobblestones  of  New  York,  blow* 
ing  your  dough  in  the  tenderloin  with  all  the  other 
tenderfeet." 

"Well,"  said  the  dejected  guard,  "it  may  come  our 
turn  some  day  to  do  the  laughing." 

"Yes,"  answered  Tracy,  "it  may  if  you  keep  a  civil 
tongue  in  your  head  and  don't  get  too  fresh."  And 
there  was  something  in  Tracy's  tone  and  the  glitter  of 
his  eyes  that  warned  the  guard  of  impending  danger 
and  caused  him  to  fall  into  a  sulky  silence  as  Tracy 
fumbled  with  the  trigger  of  his  gun. 

Jumping  down  from  the  rock,  Tracy  cut  tfte  harness 
of  the  mules  into  stout  thongs,  with  which  he  bound 
the  men  securely,  while  Genie,  at  a  convenient  dis- 


62  TRACY,  THE  0UTLAW. 

tancc,  kept  thrm  well  covered  with  a  rifle.  He  then 
proceeded  leisurely  to  count  the  money,  which  amount- 
ed to  $2,300  in  bills.  After  securing  the  money  in  a 
sack  he  helped  himself  to  a  liberal  supply  of  rations  , 
and  then  made  off  for  the  mountains,  expressing  the 
hope,  not  untinged  with  a  color  of  sarcasm,  that  the 
gentlemen  would  spend  a  pleasant  night. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Tracy's  next  advent  was  in  Provost,  Utah.  He  was 
cleanly  shaved,  well  dressed  and  presented  an  appear- 
ance generally  in  marked  contrast  to  that  of  the  un- 
kempt and  ferocious  bandit  who  held  up  the  mule  train 
on  the  trail  to  the  Yellow  Lode  Mine. 

Contrary  to  his  usual  habits,  Tracy  was  indulging 
somewhat  heavily  in  drink  and  in  one  of  the  saloons 
which  he  frequented  he  encountered  the  guard,  Willis, 
whose  elbow  he  had  shattered  in  the  mule  train  hold-up. 
Willis,  humiliated  and  chafing  under  the  jeers  of  the 
•aloon  habitues,  who  had  heard  how  four  heavily 
armed  men  were  held  up  by  ont  man  and  a  boy,  was 
himself  indulging  excessively  in  fiery  fluid  of  the  red- 
light  district.  , 

Notwithstanding,  however,  the  changed  appearance 
of  Tracy,  and  the  besotted  condition  of -Willis,  the  dis- 
comfited guard,  the  latter  recognized  him,  and,  slip- 
ping out  of  the  saloon,  notified  the  Sheriff,  who  imme- 


A}  TftfcCY,  f  HE  OUTLAW. 

diately  organized  a  posse  and  laid  in  wait  fr^  Tracy  to 
come  along. 

Shortly  after  nightfall,  Tracy  left  the  saloon  and 
strolled,  along  towards  the  spot  where  the  Sheriff  and 
his  posse  were  waiting  in  ambush.  Just  as  Tracy  got 
abreast  of  the  ambuscade,  the  Sheriff  and  his  posse 
sprang  out,  covered  him  with  their  rifles  and  ordere'd 
him  to  surrender.  Stupefied  in  a  measure  from  the 
effects  of  his  overindulgence,  and  taken  by, surprise, 
Tracy  was  not  able  to  draw  his  -weapon  before  two 
of  the  guns  of  the  deputies  went  off;  but  whether 
from  fright  or  deliberation  is  not  clear,  though  the 
circumstances  would  tend  to  establish  the  former 
theory,  as  the  men's  guns  were  almost -under  Tracy's 
nose  when  they  were  discharged,  and  one  shot  missed 
him  entirely,  while  the  other  just  grazed  his  head, 
stunning,  however,  and  affecting  his  capture  without 
further  bloodshed.  Tracy  was  bound  while  uncon- 
scious and  carried  to  the  jail. 

His  trial,  conviction  and  sentence  to  a  term  of  ten 
years  in  the  Utah  Penitentiary  followed  in  rapid  suc- 
cession. 

Tracy's  reputation  for  desperate  courage  and  in- 
genuity in  devising  means  of  escape  had  preceded  him 
to  prison,  and  the  officials,  prompted  by  the  fear  of 
some  sudden  coup  by  the  resourceftri  bandit,  sub- 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW,  6$ 

jcCted  him  not  only  to  the  closest  surveillance,  but  to 
the  severest  discipline.  For  the  first  time  in  his  career 
Tracy  found  the  lines  of  restraint  drawn  around  him 
ta  a  discriminating  degree,  and  he  chafed  under  the 

petty  tyrannies  of  men  clothed  with  a  little  authority, 

% 

whom  he  felt  to  be  in  every  characteristic  which  makes 
for  manhood  far  inferior  to  himself,  outlaw  as  he  was. 
From  day  to  day  he  was  subjected  to  the  bravado, 
galling  insults  and  brutalities  of  insignificant  public 
servants,  who  kept  him  shackled  at  a  safe  distance  and 
continually  under  cover  of  their  guns ;  yet  who  would 
not  in  solid  battalions  have  approached  within  ten 
leagues  of  him  had  he  been  in  his  own  free  element* 
the  plains,  the  mountains  and  the  timber,  with  his  trusty 
rifle,  resting  in  the  hollow  of  his  arm,  ever  ready  for 
action. 

A  few  hpurs  only  after  his  commitment  to  the  peni- 
tentiary Tracy  was  knocked  down  by  a  club  from  be- 
hind by  one  of  the  guards  for  a  slight  breach  of  dis- 
cipline. From  that  time  on  Tracy's  life  was  one  of 
constant  rebellion  against  the  prison  authorities,  and 
most  of  his  time  was  spent  in  solitary  confinement,  de- 
prived of  such  meager  fare  as  the  prison  provided, 
and  permitted  only  sufficient  bread  and  water  to  keep 
afe  in  his  body  At  such  times  as  he  was  out  of  the 
dark  cell  and  put  to  work  he  was  sedulously  separated 


<X>  SBAClf,  THE  OUTLAW, 

from  his  fellow-prisoners,  lest  he  should  devise  some 
plan  and  with  their  aid  execute  a  general  delivery. 

So  great  was  the  apprehension  inspired  by  Tracy's 
personality  in  the  minds  of  the  officials  that  a  standing 
order  was  given  to  shoot  him  dDwn  upon  the  least 
sign  of  an  attempt  to  escape.  In  all  probability  it  was 
not  the  idea  of  Tracy's  escape  which  so  terrorized 
the  officials,  but  rather  what  might  happen  to  them  if 
ever  the  band't  once  found  himself  in  position  to  ma!:e 
battle.  In  their  secret  hearts  they  would  no  d  :bt 
have  been  translated  with  joy  could  Tracy  only  hive 
vanished  into  thin  air  and  escaped  with  the  smoke 
through  some  of  the  tall  chimneys  of  the  shops.  Then, 
indeed,  each  official  could  lie  inHe*  his  own  fig  tree 
with  nobody  to  ma!:e  him  afraid. 

For  two  years  Tracy  lived  under  this  terrible  regime, 
btrrcd  out  from  the  solicitude  or  sympathy  of  the 
whole  world  except  that  of  his  faithful  Genie,  but 
Tracy  was  unconquerable.  Every  day  of  harsh  treat- 
ment tended  more  and  more  to  embitter  the  bandit 
against  the  social  order  which  fostered,  as  he  viewed 
it,  a  system  of  such  injustice  even  agai  >st  a  convicted 
criminal.  His  fertile  mind  !  ad  ever  beer  active  formu- 
lating plans  for  his  escape,  but  the  odds  were  too 
great  against  him,  until  one  morning,  after  a  des- 
perate battle  with  the  jf&ards,  he  was  stricken  down 


TRACY,  T  IE  OUTLAW.  6/ 

with  the  butts  of  guns  and  dragged  insenci^ie  into 
the  dark  cell. 

The  same  evening  one  of  the  guards  who  had  never 
taken  part  in-  the  bad  treatment  of  the  outlaw  ap- 
peared at  the  little  aperture  in  the  door  of  the  dark 
cell  with  his  allowance  of  bread  and  water. 

"Say,  Tracy,  come  to  the  door,"  softly  spoke  the 
guard. 

For  the  first  time  since  his  imprisonment  Tracy's 
heart  began  to  beat  high  with  hope.  From  the 
kindly  and  reassuring  tone  of  the  guard  he  instinctly 
felt  that  some  unseen  hand  had  begun  to  work  in 
-iiis  behalf.  Moving  cautiously  to  the  door,  Tracy 
turned  his  ear  to  the  little  hole,  and  in  a  hurried  whis- 
per the  guard  said : 

"Tracy,  I  have  good  news  for  you.  Here  is  a  note 
for  you  and  some  matches  which  will  enable  you  to 
read  it.  Bend  every  effort  to  get  out  of  this  cell,  and 
conduct  yourself  wisely  when  out,  for  a  short  time.  I 
am  your  friend." 

Eagerly  seizing  the  note  and  waiting  till  the  little 
opening  in  the  door  was  slammed  to,  leaving  the  ceil 
in  Stygian  darkness  Tracy  lit  his  matches,  one  by 
one,  and  read: 

"Dear  Harry:  You  can  trust  the  man  who  handt 
you  this.  Be  prudent  and  patient  Submit,  for  the 


68  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

time  being,  to  anything  that  happens,  for  freedom  is 
in  sight.     I  have  secured  a  powerful  ally.    You   w!!1 
have  a  chance  soon.     Until  then,  bide  your  time, 
will  try  to  see  you  when  you  are  released  frcn  l1. 
dark  ceH.  — "GEXIF.  " 

A  few  days  later  on  a  demure-looking  little  y. 
all  in  black,  appeared  at  the  prison  and  jisked  to 
Harry  Tracy.     She  presented  a   few  lines    frr  m 
influential  state  official,  which  was  instantly  re  • 
and  secured  for  her  the  coveted  pr 
out  some  misgivings  on  the  pa"t  of  the 
who  had  her  closely  watched  during  the  ent 
view,    and    which    precluded    the    possibility 
clandestine  passage  of  arms  to  the  bandit  thr 
bars  of  his  cell.     But  'Genie's  womanly  tact  anc 
genuity  was  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  she  succeeded 
without  betraying  her  secret  to  the  guards,  in  convey 
•*4ng  to  Tracy  the  information  that  a   skilled   la 
whom   she  had  enlisted  in  "her   cause   would   shortly 
serve  upon  the  warden  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  based 
upon  an  error  in  the  indictment  u  jn  which  the  pris- 
oner had  been  convicted. 

When  the  writ  was  served  upon  the  warden,  and  it 
became  a  question  as  to  who  was  to  accompany  the 
prisoner  to  the  court  at  Provost,  consternation  reigned 
amongst  the  officials,  who  dodged  behind  one  another 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW,  .  69 

like  the  members  in  the  suite -of  the.  Shah  of  Persia, 
when  on  his  visi|;  to  England,  he  asked  the  jailer  in 
the  Tower  of  London  to  take  one  of  his  retinue  and 
hang  him  so  he  could  get  a  practical  demonstration  of 
how  the  gallows  worked. 

"I  don't  care  to  take  any  risks  alone  with  this  man/' 
said  the  warden.  -  "If  he's  got  to  go  to  court  we'll  need 
a  heavy  guard." 

"Oh,  that's  all  right,"  said  the  Sheriff,  a  vainglori- 
ous individual  with  a  reputation  for  border  hardihood 
and  bravery  which  he -had  wrested  from  an  adven- 
turous career  with  hobos,  but  who  had  not  been  up 
against  Tracy,  as  had  the  prison  officials,  "Fll  take 
him.  Just  give  me  one  guard  and  I  guess  with  the 
aid  of  good,  stout  leg  irons,  handcuffs  and  these  guns 
hanging  in  my  belt  we'll  land  him  all  right." 

Tracy  was  brought  to  the  prison  office,  where  the 
irons  were  snapped  upon  him  after  he  was  allowed  to 
arrajThimself  in  a  ehe£p  suit  of  citizens'  clothing. 

Mindful  of  'Genie's  admonition,  Tracy  conducted 
himself  with  marked  docility— in  fact,  affected  a  mien 
of  stupidity,  which  was  attributed  by  the  official!  to  the 
breaking  down  of  his  indomitable  spirit,  and  which  was 
hailed  with  great  delight  and  a  refreshing  seme  of 
relief  by  these  valiant  guardians  of  the  law. 

When  the  Sheriff  and  the  guard  with  their  prisoner 


70  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

entered  the  coach  in  which  they  were  to  make  the 
journey  to  court,  they  seated  themselves  in  the  middle 
of  the  car,  placing  Tracy  by  the  window  on  the  same 
seat  with  the  Sheriff,  whilst  the  guard  sat  on  the  seat 
facing  them. 

The  car  was  unoccupied  save  for  the  presence  of 
one  passenger,  who  occupied  a  seat  at  the  far  end  in 
front. 

A  few  minutes  before  the  train  started  a  man  and 
woman  came  into  the  coach,  apparently  strangers  to 
one  another.  The  man  took  a  seat  immediately  behind 
the  guard.  Once  or  twice  the  woman  walked  up  and 
down  the  aisle,  stopping  each  tirrue  and  looking  at  the 
prisoner,  as  if  impelled  by  curiosity. 

"Is  that  a  crazy  man  ?"  asked  the  woman. 

"No,  ma'am,"  replied  the  Sheriff,  "just  a  prisoner 
going  to  court.  He's  far  from  crazy,  but  a  bad  one, 
all  right." 

"Too  bad/1  sighed,  the  woman.  "I  hope  he  won't 
get,  loose.  If  he  does  I'll  get  off  this  car  in  a  hurry 
myself." 

"No  danger  of  that,"  gnickcjvd  the  Sheriff,  opening 
up  his  coat  and  patting  the  stocks  of  his  big  revolvers. 
"He  wouldn't  get  far  away  if  he  did  get  loose^ 

Just  the  suspicion  of  a  smile  rippled  across  the  out- 


71 

kw's  %t  as  tbi  Sheriff  chuckkd  over  his  obtuse  witti- 
cism. 

"Well,  I  suppose  Pll  be  safer  near  you,  sir,"  said 
the  woman,  seating  herself  just  behind  the  Sheriff. 

"That's  right,  ma'am/'  rejoined  the  Sheriff,  writhing 
with  pleasure  under  the  flattery  implicated  in  the  wom- 
an's reliance  upon  his  valor.  "Jist  you  sit  where  you 
are  and  we'll  look  after  you  all  right,  eh,  Yairo?" 

"Sure  thing,"  grunted  Yairo,  the  guard. 

The  train  pulled  out,  and  while  running  to  the  next 
station  the  woman, fitting  sideways  in  her  seat,  kept 
the  Sheriff  in  a  lively  conversation,  which  seemed  to 
both  please  and  flatter  him,  as  the  woman  was  unusu- 
ally attractive  and  very  .entertaining.  Just  before  the 
train  reached  the,  next  station  an  almost  imperceptible 
glance  of  significance  passed  between  the  woman  and 
the  man,  and  at  the  same  time  the  woman  rested  her 
arm  on  the  back  of  the  Sheriff's  seat,  holding  in  her 
hand  a  handkerchief  in  which  was  concealed  a  small 
vial.  The  man  made  a  similar  move  towards  the  guard, 
without  attracting  his  attention,  as  he  seemed  to  be 
preoccupied  with  his  own 'thoughts — perhaps  the  re- 
nown and  gk5ry  awaiting  his  part  in  the  successful 
delivery  of  the  prisoner  to  the  court.  All  the  while 
the  conversation  between  the  Sheriff  and  the  woman 
was  growing  in  animation,  when  a  sweetish  sickly  odor 


ft  TBACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

began  to  permeate  the  car.  In  an  instant  Tracy  had 
divined  the  cause  and  turned  his  face  to  the  window 
and  holding  his  breath  to  keep  from  being  overcome 
by  the  deadly  fumes.  The  woman's  handkerchief  was 
now  within  only  a  few  inches  of  the  Sheriff's  nostrils, 
and  the  eyes  of  the  guard  on  the  opposite  side  were 
drooping  and  his  lower  jaw  was  gradually  dropping 
down  upon  his  chest.  Just  as  the  train  began  to  slow 
up  the  Sheriff  began  to  show  signs  of  stupor,  when 
the  woman,  with  the  quickness  of  a  cat,  threw  her  left 
arm  around  his  neck  and  pressed  the  saturated  hand- 
kerchief hard  against  his  mouth  and  nose.  By  the  time 
the  train  had  come  to  a  stop  both  the  Sheriff  and 
guard  were  limp  and  lifeless  in  their  seats. 

"Tardum  Junction !"-  shouted  the  brakeman,  poking 
his  head  in  the  door  for  an  instant  and  as  quickly 
withdrawing  it. 

"All  ready  now!"  cried  the  woman,  and  in  the  flash 
of  an  eye  the  man  had  abstracted  the  keys  from  the 
pocket  of  the  somnolent  Sheriff  and  the  shackles  fell 
from  Tracy's  limbs.  In  another  second  the  Sheriff 
and  guard  were  handcuffed-  together  and  the  irons 
adjusted  to  a  leg  of  each  one. 

For  just  one  second  Tracy  grasped. the  woman  in 
his  embrace  and  kissed  her  affectionately.  "Go,"  said 
Tracy  to  the  man  and  woman;  "go^to  the  front  plat- 


TRACV,  THE  OUTLAW.  •        73 

form  and  hide  me  from  view  while  I  make  my  way 
out  by  the  rear,"  and  quickly  disarming  the  guards,  the 
bandit,  covered  by  the  forms  of  the  man  and  woman, 
made  his  way  to  the  rear  platform  and  stepped  off,  a 
free  man  once  again,  jUvS*  as  the  train  pulled  out. 


OIAPTER  VIII. 

'GENIE  TRIES  TO  REFORM  TRACY. 

"Well,  'Genie,"  said  Tracy  a  week  later,  when  they 
met  in  Carson,  Nevada,  "I'll  have  to  get  to  work  soon 
now ;  funds  are  running  low." 

"Harry,  dear,"  said  'Genie,  throwing  her  arms 
around  the  bandit's  neck,  caressing  him  fondly,  "I 
have  been  thinking  seriously  of  late*.  I  fear  this  reck- 
less life, will  not  terminate  in  anything  good  for  us. 
We  are  no  sooner  out  of  one  difficulty  than  we  are  in 
another.  Why  not  let  us  go  to  some  place  far  away 

v 

from  here,  where  we  are  unknown,  and  begin  life 
anew?" 

"What  With,  'Genie,  dear?"  laughed  the  bandit, 
drawing  the  girl  to  him  and  kissing  her  repeatedly. 

"Why,  with  this,  Haccy,"  replied  'Genie,  laughing, 
as  she  produced  from  her  bosom  a  large  roll  of  bills. 
"We  are  not  broke  yet.  I  had  plenty  left  after  p  aying 
all  the  expenses  of  your  escape." 

"Good,  'Genie.  I  had  no  idea  you  were  s©  rich* 
Well,  j#st  as  you  say,  d^ar.  No  man  ev«r  owed  so 


TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW.  75 

much  to  a  woman  as  I  owe  to  you,  and  whatever  will 
ma&e  you  happy  I  will  do." 

•"That's  right,  Harry,,  and  if  you  will  do  as  I  say 
all  will  come  out  right  in  the  end." 

"But  you  have  not  yet  told  me,  'Genie,  how  you 
engineered  my  escape." 

"Well;  sit  down  here,  Harry,"  said  'Genie,  drawing 
him  to  a  sofa  in  the  cozy  room  of  the  hotel  where  they 
were  stopping  under  an  assumed  name.  "Sit  here  and 
I  xwill  tell  you  all.  When  I  reached  Denver,  where 
you  instructed  me  to  go,  I  made  the  acquaintance  of 
a  rich  lady,  who  took  a  fanc>  to  me.  She  was  largely 
interested  in  mines  and  was  a  shrewd  speculator.  She 
induced  me  to  venture  what  money  I  had  in  a  mining 
enterprise  and  in  a  very  short  time  my  little  pile  had 
increased  to  seven  thousand  dollars.  Then  1  heard  of 
.your  misfortune  and  determined  to  secure  your  free- 
dom." 

"Dear  'Genie,"  murmured  the  bandit,  his  voice  trem- 
bling with  emotion,  a  phenomenon  utterly  foreign  to 
the  outlaw,  who  was  never  known  to  lose  control  of 
his  feelings  except  in  his  intercourse  with  'Genie,  and 
that  only  at  rare  intervals  and  under  stress  of  great 
excitement.  . 

"Yes,  and  night  after  night,  for  many  long  months, 
I  tossed  in  my  bed  trying  to  , think  of  some  plan  by 


76  TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW. 

wliich  your  escape  could  be  effected/1  continued  tile 
jftrl 

"Eld  you  ever  write  to  me?"  asked  Tracy. 

"Yes,  several  times,  but  I  did  not  dare  say  anything 
tliat  would  have  been  of  use  or  serve  to  inspire  hope." 

"You  might  just  as  well  not  have  written.  I  was 
always  in  disfavor,  and  those  brutes  would  not  permit 
me  to  receive  any  mail,"  said  Tracy  between  his 
clenched  teeth,  a  cloud  of  malignant  hatred  sweeping 
over  his  countenance  at  the  recollection  of  his  treat- 
ment. 

"But  anyway,"  resumed  'Genie,  luck  came  my  way 
at  last.  One  day  I  met  an  old  friend,  Jack  Rawlins, 
who  helped  you  to  escape.  He  was  broke  and  running 

in  hard  luck.    I  befriended  him  and  he  was  grateful. 

(i 

L thought  I  could  trust  him,  and  when  I  unfolded  my 
mind  to  him  he  entered  enthusiastically  into  my  project 
to  free  you  and  outlined  the  plan  which  led  to  the  suc- 
cessful issue.  We  went  to  Provost,  got  the  best  lawyer 
attainable,  who  found  in  your  case  a  loophole  to  work 
the  habeas  corpus — arid  the  rest  you  know." 

"He's  a  good  fellow,  that  Rawlins,  and  game,  too. 
He'd  make  a  fine  pal  for  me,  'Genie,  were  it  not  that 
I'm  going  to  let  you  steer  the  schooner  now." 

"Do  you  mean  that,  Harry  ?" 

"Of  course  I  do,  'Genie.    Why,  little  girl,  you  are  \ 


TRACY,  THE   OUTLAW.  /7 

a  marvel'of  ingenuity  and  fidelity,  and  if  the  devotion 
of  a  lifetime  will  repay  you  for  your  goodness  yoia  can 
count  on  me." 

"Never  mind,  Harry,  dear,  to  feel  that  we  are  once 
more  together  and  that  you  love  me  is  reward  enough 
for  all  I've  done." 

"But  I  fear,  'Genie,  we  are  not  safe  here." 

"Well,  let  us  leave  here  and  move  around  until  we 
find  a  safe  place  to  settle,"  returned  'Genie. 

"Yes,  let's  go  to  Idaho.  There  are  ranches  there  to 
be  had  in  isolated  sections,  where  we  will  be.safe  from 
pursuit." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TRACY  WITH  THE  HORSE  THIEVES. 

The  fllowing  day  Tracy  purchased  two  horses,  and 
he  and  'Genie  set  out  on  their  long  journey,  which  lay 
through  a  very  rough  and  rugged  country.  For  a  few 
days  they  rested  in  Lewiston,  Idaho,  but  as  their  ap- 
pearance there  seemed  to  excite  some  suspicion  they 
continued  their  route  into  the  Snake  River  country. 
Here  they  found  in  a  rich  valley  an  old  deserted  ranch, 
of  which  they  took  possession  with  a  view  to  settle 
down  to  farming  and  stock  raising.  But,  alas !  for  all 
human  calculations  which  conflict  with  the  impelling 
power  of  firmly  fixed  reckless  habits.  Soon  Tracy  be- 
gan to  appear  in  the  small  settlements  of  that  section, 
where  he  was  not  slow  in  making  the  acquaintance  of 
other  border  desperadoes,  who  lived  by  frequent  depre- 
dations upon  the  farmers  and  horse  faisers  of  the 
country  surrounding.  Among  Tracy's  new  associates 
were  two  horse  thieves  of  local  notoriety.  These  two 
men,  Morgan  and  Wallace,  took  up  their  abode  with 

7? 


TBACY  AJCD  THE  HORSE  THWVZ3. 


80  TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW. 

Tracy  and  'Genie  at  the  ranch.  Then  began  a  series  of 
bold  and  frequent  raids,  the  stolen  horses  being  brought 
to  the  ranch  in  process  of  disposal.  The  long  log 
house  on  the  ranch  was  peculiarly  adapted  to  this 
nefarious  business,  as  it  was  so  situated  against  a 
gigantic  rock  that  it  was  entirely  inaccessible  from  the 
rear,  whilst  creep  ravines  at  the  side  afforded  ready 
means  of  quick  escape  to  the  Snake  River  by  pathways 
along  which  the  stolen  stock  could  be  driven  in  an 
emergency  and  spirited  away. 

Emboldened  by  continued  success,  the  band  repeated 
their  raids  at  such  short  intervals  that  the  farmers 
were  threatened  with  utter  ruin  unless  the  depredations 
were  checked,  and  the  officers  of  the  law  had  been 
entirely  unable  to  cope  with  the  superior  dash  and 
cunning  of  the  daring  robbers.  In  sheer  desperation, 
the  farmers  and  cattle  men  organized  a  strong  vigi- 
lance committee,  and  one  day  appeared  in  full  force  In 
front  of  the  ranch  and  demanded  to  see  what  stock  was 
quartered  in  the  corral, 

"Well,"  replied  Tracy,  "if  you  think  you'd  like  to 
stay  with  us  permanently  you  might  jump  over  my 
fence/' 

The  leader  of  the  vigilants  hesitated  before  making 
another  move,  as  there  was  something  in  Tracy's  tone 
which  Sid  not  seem  to  stimulate  his  courage  much. 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  8l 

"If  you  don't  let  us  see  those  horses  now,"  shouted 
the  leader,  "we'll  see  'em  later,  and  maybe  it  won't  be 
so  good  for  you." 

"Yes,"  yelled  Tracy,  "and  if  you -don't  put  space 
between  you  and  this  place  in  pretty  short  order  I'll 
help  you  «along  in  a  way  that  won't  be  so  good  for 
you." 

For  a  moment  the  party  hesitated  to  move,  when 
Tracy  stepped  into  the  doorway  and  threw  up  his  rifle, 
when  'Genie  seized  his  arm. 

"Oh,  Harry,  don't  shoot.  They'll  go  away.  It  will 
only  make  it  worse  for  us  all,"  pleaded  the  girl. 

While  Tracy  was  gently  pushing-  'Genie  aside,  how- 
ever, and  before  he  could  get  his  gun  in  position  again, 
the  party  had  turned  their  horses  and  were  on  a  dead 
run  down  the  valley. 

"I  see  our  finish,"  said  one  of  th6  robbers.  "They'll 
go  now,  get  reinforcements  and  come  back  after  us  in 
a  big  body." 

"Well,  if  that's  the  case,"  growled  Tracy,  "I'll  take 
a  shot  at  'em  yet.  Thev're  hardly  out  of  range."  But 
they  were,"  and  Tracy's  shot  was  ineffective. 

In  a  few  hours  the  vigilants,  led  by  a  man  named 
McEwen  were  back  again."  This  leader,  not  knowing 
the  utterly  reckless  man  he  had  to  deal  with  in  Tracy, 
and  relying  upor  the  formidable  strength  in  numbers 


a  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

of  his  command  to  awe  the  robbers,  rode  up  to  the 
corral  fence  and  shouted: 

"If  you  fellows  don't  "surrender  it  will  go  harder 
with  you  when  we  get  you." 

In  reply  to  this  summons  Tracy  shoved  his  gun  bar- 
rel out  of  the  window  and  fired.  McEwens'  horse  at 
the  same  instant  threw  up  his  head  and  caught  the 
bullet  intended  for  his  rider.  Immediately  McEwen 
fell  from  the  horse  and  was.  safely  shielded  by  the 
corral  fence  before  Tracy  could  cover  htm  again.  Then 
followed  a  fusillade  on  both  sides,  the  bullets  of  the 
posse  pattering  harmlessly  against  the  logs  of  the 
house,  whilst  two  of  the  posse  fell  desperately  wounded 
before  the  deadly  aim  of  Tracy,  who  fired  whenever  he 
saw  a  head  bob  up  from  the  protecting  cover  of  the 
boards  strung  along  the  bottom  of  the  fence. 

Night  was  coming  on  and  'Genie  occupied  herself  in 
collecting  such  articles  of  food  and  clothing  as  the 
band  would  need  in  their  flight,  which  they  decided  to 
make  under  the  cover  of  darkness. 

As  night  spread  its  somber  mantel  over  the  valley 
two  of  the  robbers  crept  out  of  the  house  and  into 
the  corral  to  saddle  the  horses.  When  the  horses  ^ere 
saddled  Morgan  and  Wallace  led  tiieir  horses  into  the 
ravi&e  and  waited  there  for  Tracy  and  "Genie  wfeo  ap» 
peartd  shortly  "afterwards  *n  tfce  ow?l  Sfcsrfeely  kad 


TRACY  &AVES  HIS  GIRL. 


Page  83. 


84  TRACY,    THE   OUTLAW. 

they  led  the  horses  out  of  the  corral  and  mounted  whei? 
the  animals  became  frightened,  and  before  they  could 
be  gotten  under  control  dashed  out  in  full  view  o.f 
the  posse.  Instantly  a  volley  Vang  out.  'Genie  lurched 
in  her  saddle  and  was  about  to  fall  when  Tracy  leaped 
his  hoise  to  her  side  and  lifted  her  to  himself. .  /Genie 
was  mortally  wounded,  a  bullet  having -passed  through 
her  breast. 

"Oh,  'Genie,  are  you  hurt?"  burst  from  Tracy's  lips 
as  he  put  spurs  to  his  horse,  and  plunged  into  the 
ravine. 

"Yes,  Harry,  dear,  they've  got  me." 

"Oh,  'Genie,"  groaned  the  frenzied  outlaw,"don't 
die;  do  not  leave  me.  There's  nothing  in  life  for  me 
without  you,  'Genie." 

Dismounting  at  a  little  bend  in  the  ravine,  Tracy  laid 
Genie  gently  on  the  ground.  The  tender  expression  m 
his  face  had  vanished,  the  veins  swelled  like  ropes  upcft 
his  forehead,  his  teeth  were  set  and  his  steel-gray  eyes 
-  sparkled  like  basilisks.  In  a  few  short  seconds  the  dove- 
like  gentleness  which  his  grief  had  brought  into  play 
made  way  for  the  ferocity  of  the  wounded  tiger.  Tracy 
was  himself  again,  the  bold  and  fearless  outlaw.  Rush- 
ing back  into  the  open,  he  confronted  the  posse,  which 
had  started  in  pursuit,  and  *lie  falling  forms  of  his 
pursuers  before  the  vicious  bark  of  his  repeating  rifle 


TBACX,  ^HK   OUTLAW.  8£ 

soon  told  the  story  of  his  deadly  aim.  Several  of  the 
pbsse  were  killed,  and  the  rest,  panic-stricken,  turned 
and  fled.  .•  Tracy  stood  firing  after  their  retreating 
forms  with  deadly  effect  until  his  rifle  and  both  revol- 
vers were  emptied. 

Then,  returning  to  'Genie,  he  took  her  in  his  arms 
and  asked :  "Are  you  strong  enough,  darling,  to  lie  in 
my  arms  and  ride  away  from  here?" 

For  answer  she  only  partly  opened  her  eyes  and 
whispered :  "Kiss  me,  dearest.  I'm  going.  I  feel  the 
chill  around  my  heart.  It  is  growing  dark.  I'm  dying, 
Harry.  I  love  you,  darling.  '  Don't  grieve  for  me,  but 
for  my  sake  look  to  your  precious  self.  Promise  me, 
dearest,  that  ^ you  go  to  our  old  home  in  the  Ozarks 
and  kiss  my  dear  old  parents  good-by  for  me." 

Tracy  strove  hard  to  choke  back  the  sobs  that  were 
rising  in  his  throat,  and  was  about  to  speak  again,  when 
a  little  movement  shot  through  the  frame  of  the  beau- 
tiful girl  like  the  tremor  of  a  dying  bird — and  'Genie, 
the  unselfish,  devoted  'Genie,  was  no  more. 

"I  don't  see  that  anything  more  can  be  done  now, 
Tracy,"  said  Wallace.  "We'd  better  move  on." 

"Never  mind  me,"  answered  Tracy."  "Go  along 
you  two  if  you  want.  I'll  stay  here — just  leave  me  a 
horse." 

All  night  the  bandit  remained  by  the  body  of  the 


85  TRACY,  fHE 

girl,  sitting  at  times  with  his  head  burkd  between  his 
knees  and  then  again  pacing  to  and  fro,  muttering  and 
mumbling  curses  upon  the  heads  of  those  who  had 
brought  this-  sorrow  into  his  life.  Every  now  and  then 
he  would  stop  and  kiss  the  cold  lips  of  the  dead  girl. 
Then  the  tortuous  winding*  of  the  ravine  would  echo 
back  his  hysterical  laughter  as  he  fondled  and  kissed 
the  stock  of  his  rifle  and  thanked  tfie  inanimate  weapon 
for  the  work  it  had  done  in  avenging  the  death  of  all 
that  he  held  dear  on  earth.  Morning  broke  with  a 
heavy  mist  hanging  like  a  funeral  pall  over  the  valley. 
Tracy,  unmindful  of  hunger  or  the  chill  of  the  mist, 
still  kept  his  vigil  over  the  lifeless  form.  All  at  once 
he  arose  as  if  beset  by  a  sudden  inspiration,  and,  lift- 
ing the  body  of  the  dead  girl  in  his  arms,  strode  rapidly 
down  the  ravine  in  the  direction  of  the  river  to  a  point 
where,  in  a  cluster  of  large  rocks,  there  was  a  small 
natural  receptacle  or  intercice,  which  might  have  sug- 
gested the  kindly  handiwork  of  nature  in  providing  a 
mausoleum  for  the  fair  young  girl  in  the  heart  of  this 
wild  and  desolate  country.  Here  Tracy  laid  to  rest  all 
that  remained  of  this  tender  flower  of  the  beautiful 
Ozarks.  Then,  rolling  small  bowlders  into  the  entrance 
until  the  interior  was  securely  sealed  and  safe  from  the 
depredations  of  prowling  beasts  of  prey,  Tracy  re- 
turned to  his  horse,  leaped  into  the  saddle  and  rode 


THE  OUTLAW,  8^ 

away,  an  embittered' man,  with  the  venom  of  hatred 
ranking  in  his  heart. 

The  only  influence  for  good  which  had  ever  entered 
into  his  life  was  gone.  Tracy's  heart  had  shriveled  in 
the  tears  he  shed  for  'Genie.  All  faith  in  humanity 
had  been  squeezed  from  its  throbbing  ventricles.  Tracy 
was  alone — aloof  from  all  the  ties  of  earth,  forever- 
more  king  of  outlaws. 


CHAPTER  X. 

TRACY  MEETS  MERRILL. 

'.I/racy  was  next  seen  in  Lewiston,  where  his  sojourn 
was  of  short  duration,  having  been  brought  to  a  close 
by  an  encounter  with  a  gambler,  whom  he  shot  and 
killed  in  a  fight,  growing  out  of  a  dispute  over  the 
division  of  spoils  captured  in  a  crooked  game  of  cards 
from  a  drunken  paymaster  of  the  United  States  Army. 
The  marshal  of  the  town,  upon  learning  of  the  kill-' 
ing,  organized  a  posse  to  capture  Tracy,  but  Tracy, 
with  his  usual  audacity,  walked  out  of  the  saloon  just 
as  the  marshal  and  his  force  were  entering,  and, 
mounting  his  horse,  rode  out  of  Lewiston,  never  to 
return.  For  the  next  few  months  Tracy  sought  refuge 
in  the  Arapahoe  country,  consorting  with  gamblers  and 
outlaws  like  himself,  preying  upon  the  Indians  and 
leaving  a  lurid  trail  of  bloo^1  wherever  he  went.  His 
reputation  as  an  infallible  arksman,  together  with  a 
firmly  fixed  superstition  in  the  minds  of  all  who  came 
in  contact  with  him  that  he  bore  a  charmed  life,  in-  v 
spired  a  degree  of  terror  which  largely  contributed  to 
his  immunity  from  pursuit  and  arrest  in  that  section. 

88 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW,  89 

Tiring  of  his  life  in  the  wilds,  Tracy  decided  to  try 
his  fortunes  again  within  the  confines  of  civilization. 
and  with  this  end  in  view  he  set  out  for  San  i-  - 
where  he  arrived  in  May,  1898. 

When  Tracy  first  appeared  in  the  gilded  haunt 
the  San  Francisco  tenderloin  his  appearance  was  n 
changed.    He  had  allowed  his  moustache  to  grow  and 
he  was  well  dressed,  and  no  one  would  ever  have  sus- 
pected that  a  young  man  of  such  retiring  manners  and 
reserve  was  the  dread  bandit  who  had  terrorized  every 
section  of  the  far  western  country  in  which  he  had  op- 
erated. 

One  night,  while  Tracy  was  sitting  in-  a~  saloon  at 
a  table  remote  from  the  bar,  two  men  who  were 
standing  at  the  bar  became  engaged  in  a  dispute  about 
some  change  thrown  on  the  counter  by  the  bartender. 
One  of  the  men  was  a  flashily  dressed  and  well-kept 
looking  young  man  of  the  gambler  type.  The  other 
was  a  brawny,  weather-beaten  fellow,  apparently  of 
the  seafaring  class,  and  was  well  under  the  influence 
of  drink. 

"That's  my  money,"  said  the  brawny  sailor  as  the 
gambler  swept  the  change  from  the  counter  into  his 
pocket. 

"Not  on  your  life,"  replied  the  other.  "It's  com- 
ing to  me  from  that  last  round." 


yo  Tafccy,  THE 

"You're  a  Bar/'  angrily  retorted  the  tailor,  "1  or- 
dered that  last  drink  and  paid  for  it,  and  that's  my 
change,  and  if  you  don't  give  it  to  me  I'll  spoil  that 
pretty  mug  of  your'n/'  cried  the  sailor,  at  the  same 
time  rubbing  his  clenched  fist  under  the  nose  of  the 
sport. 

Quick  as  lightning  the  gambler's  fist  shot  out  and 
the  sailor  was  knocked  sprawling  on  the  floor.  In  an 
instant  he  was  on  his  feet  again  and  lunging  wildly 
at  his  assailant  with  an  ugly-lcoking  knife,  the  gam- 
bler retreating  all  the  while  before  the  enraged  seaman 
to  escape  his  vicious  thrusts,  until  he  reached  the  wall 
and  could  back  away  no  fuither.  For  a  second  things 
assumed  a  very  critical  aspect  vfor  the  gambler,  when 
suddenly  a  crashing  sound  was  heard,  followed  by  a 
cry  of  pain,  and  the  sailor  dropped  to  the  flopr  like 
a  felled  ox.  Tracy  had  jumped  from  his  chair,  and, 
seizing  it  by  the  back,  brought  it  down  with  terrific 
force  on  the  seaman's  head.  In  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye  the  sailor  was  relieved  of  all  his  money  and  valu- 
ables and  then  unceremoniously  dragged  from  the 
saloon  and  flung  into  the  gutter  of  an  alley  at  the 
rear. 

Ai  ^r  the  sailor  was  disposed  of  the  gambler  walked 
up  to  Tracy  and  said*' 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  01 

"Good  for  you,  stranger.  My  name's  Dave  Merrill. 
Shake." 

"It's  a  pretty  close  call  you  had"  said  Tracy,  taking 
the  man's  extended  hand,  "and  I  don't  know  that  it 
was  any  of  my  business  to  butt  in,  but  I  never  could 
stand  to  see  an  unarmed  man  attacked  by  another  with 
a  weapon  in  what  should  be  an  even  fight." 

"Well,  I  thank  you  anyway,  and  may  I  ask  your 
name,  if  you  oon't  mind  telling?" 

"Well,  it  atm't  always  wise  to  tell  one's  name,  espe- 
cially where  it  appears  on  a  good  many  warrants  for 
arrest,  but  I  guess  you  are  true  blue  and  I  don't  mind 
trusting  you,  especially  as  I'm  strange  in  this  burg 
and  am  glad  to  make  a  friend.  My  name  is  Harry 
Tracy." 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  intimacy  which  sprang 
up  between  these  two  desperate  men,  leading  to  a  series 
of  unprecedented  crimes,  and  the  death  of  Merrill  at 
the  hands  of  Tracy. 

From  this  moment  they  entered  into  a  compact,  like 
two  hungry  lions,  to  hunt  their  prey  together. 

Merrill,  whose  depredations  had  been  more  on  ths 
•rder  of  petty  thievery,  soon  had  hie  ideas  broadened 
under  the  masterful  tuition  of  the  experienced  and 
hardened  bandit. 

A  number  of  schemes  were  suggested  by  Merrill  to 


£J  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW, 

secure  money,  but  in  ~very  instance  they  only  elicited 
from  Tracy  a  contemptuous  growl  or  a  little  laugh 
of  good-natured  derision. 

"Why,  pal,"  remarked  Tracy,  "it's  easier  and. safer, 

too,  to  play  for  big  stakes  than  for  chicken  feed.     Of 

course,  there  are  times  when  conditions  do  not  admit 

-of  any  choice,  but  in  a  town  like  this  the  opportunities 

are  manifold.   ,Do  you  know  of  a  safe  fence?''' 

"Yes,  the  safest  on  the  coast,"  answered  Merrill. 

"Well,  then,"  said  Tracy,  "I  have  a  trick  in  view. 
I  was  thinking  it  over  today  while  down  on  the  docks. 
All  I  need  is  a  pal,  and  I  guess  you'll  do.  There's  a 
lot  of  silks  just  unloaded  from  a  Chinese  vessel  in  a 
warehouse  at  the  docks  and  they  are  haulingjt  to  the 
railroad  for  shipment  East." 

"Now  watch  me,"  said  Tracy  the  morning  following 
this  conversation.  "Come  with  me  and  we'll  make  the 
acquaintance  of  ©ne  of  the  drivers  of--fcho.se  drays  that 
are  hauling"  the  stuff." 

They  set  out  towards  the  docks,  and  seeing  a  driver 
rotsrsijig  f  r©m  the  freight,  yards  with  his  empty  dray, 
thsy  accosted  him  and  asked  him  if  he  would  have 
timo  fc>  do  a  little  job  for  them  after  hours  that  even- 
ing if  he  was  well  paid  for  it.  They  needed  some  haul- 
ing done  and  his  dray  was  just  the  right  thing. 
,  €rlad  of  a  chance  to  make  a  neat  little  sum  extra, 


TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW  93 

the  Unsuspecting  driver  consented,  and  to  show  good 

him  a  dollar  on  account,  at  the 

to  a  Saloon  to  have^a  drink. 

Th.:;  o  last  of  the  driver    for    several    hours. 

Once  in  tl:e  lack  room  of  the  saloon  the  drugged 
liquor  did  the  rest,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  the 
big  man  was  sprawling'  on  the  floor  in  a  heavy  stupor, 
while  the  two  robbers  divested  him  of  his  working 
clothes.  A  little  later  Tracy,  arrayed  in  overalls  and 
pniper,  was  driving  from  the  warehouse  with  a  load 
of  valuable  silks  and  on. his  way  to  the  fence,  with 
Merrill  following  close  behind. 

This  haul  netted  the  pair  nearly  $3,000. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

• 

AUTOMOBILE  HOLD-UP. 

For  several  weeks  Tracy  and  Merrill  kept  up  a  lively 
pace  amongst  the  saloons  and  gambling  places  of  San 
Francisco.  Tracy's  ventures  in  the  gambling  line  wfere 
always  marked  by  the  same  recklessness  and  boldness 
which  distinguished  his  operations  in  his  more  daring 
exploits  of  robbery. 

"What's  your  limit?"  called  Tracy  across  the  table 
one  night  to  the  dealer  in  a  faro  bank. 

"The  roof,"  answered  the  dealer. 

"Well,  here  goes  for  the  roof,"  quietly  remarked 
Tracy,  piling  up  on  one  card  all  the  checks  he  had 
before  him.  This  time  Tracy  won,  but  his  big  play 
was  not  destined  all  the  time  to  run  his  way,  and  one 
day  found  both  himself  and -Merrill  broke,  with  all 
their  diamonds  and  glad  togs  in  pawn. 

"It's  time  for  us  to  get  a  move  on  us,"  said  Tracy, 
"and  replenish  our  exchequer." 

"What  are  the  chances?"  asked  Merrill. 

"We'll  know  more  about  that  when  the  trick's  pulled 
off,"  replied  Tracy. 

94 


AUTOMOBILE  HOLD-UP. 

95- 


96  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

"Ail  right,"  said  Merrill,  "I'm  with  you." 

That  night  the  two  men  attempted  to  rob  a  wealthy 
Chinaman  in  a  dark  street,  but  the  terrified  Asiatic, 
instead  cf  stopping  and  holding  up  his  hands  as  com\ 
manded  by  the  bandits,  took  to  his  heels  and  fled,  fol- 
lowed by  a  .bullet  from  Tracy's  revolver,  but  which 
missed  its  mark,  owing  to  the  darkness.  The  noise, 
however,  soon  attracted  a  large  mob,  which  pursued 
the  bandits  to  the  railroad  yards,  where  they  boarded 
a  train  that  was  just  moving  out  and  escaped  from 
their  pursuers. 

A  few  hours  after  leaving  San  Francisco  the  bandits 
left  the  train,  both  sober,  but  ravenously  hungry. 

"I'm  going  to. see  if  I  can  strike  someone  who  will 
trade  me  some  grub  for  one  of  my  guns,"  said  Merrill. 

"I  guess  not,"  said  Tracy.  "It's  a  poor  mechanic 
that'll  sell  his  tools  in  any  straits.  I'd  let  my  duds  go 
first,  but  I  won't  do  that,  either." 

"Yes,  but  we've  got  to  eat,"  groaned  Merrill. 

"Oh,  curb  that  appetite  a  little  while,"  grumbled 
Tracy.  "Watch  me.  I  fix  all  that.  There'll  be  some- 
body along  here  before  long  looking  for  an  investment 
and  we'll  show  him  a  sa.fe  place  to  deposit  his  surplus 
wealth." 

"I'm  awfully  hungry,  though,"  muttered  Merrill. 


SttfcCY,  THE  OOTt&W.  8E 

"Well,  so  am  I.  Did  you  ever  try  a  Rocky  Moun- 
tain course  dinner,  Merrill?" 

"No,"  said  Merrill. 

"Well,  do  you  want  one,"  asked  Tracy,  smiling  a 
little  contemptuously  at  his  partner's  ^vident  lack  of 
self-restraint. 

"Yes,  indeed,  I  do,"  answered  Merrill  eagerly. 
"What  kind  of  a  dinner  is  that?' 

"Why,  I  can  get  you  one.  Just  take  up  your  belt 
a  few  holes,"  snickered  Tracy. 

"Oh !"  groaned  Merrill,  as  his  face  lengthened  out 
with  disappointment. 

"Hist !"  said  Tracy,  suddenly  seizing  Merrill  by  the 
arm,  "here  comes  an  automobile,  just  loaded  down 
with  dinners.    We'll  hold  it -up.    Squat  down  till  they^ 
get  near  us.     Then  we'll  rise  and  something  will  be 
doing." 

"But  that's  pretty  risky  business,  right  here  in  full 
view  of  the  station,"  ventured  Merrill. 

"What  the  h — 1's  the  matter  with  you?"   snarled 

Tracy;  "got  cold  feet,  huh?    That's  fine  talk  from  a 

•    * 

man  with  an  empty  stomach." 

Merrill  said  no  more.  In  a  few  moments  the  auto- 
mobile had  approached  to  within  a  few  paces  of  where 
the  bandits  were  concealed. 

"Halt  I"  shouted  Tracy,  springiuj  out  into  the  road 


98  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

and  covering  the  party  with  both  revolvers.  The  auto- 
mobile contained  two  ladie^,  two  gentlemen  and  the 
chauffeur.  They  stopped  immediately  and  threw  up 
their  hands  promptly  in  response  to  Tracy's  harsh  com- 
mand. 

"I  beg  your  pardon,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  but  we 
are  collecting  funds  in  the  interest  of  the  Society  for 
the  Suppression  of  Stock  Gambling  and  hold-ups,  and 
if  you  will  only  be  good  and  not  interfere  with  us  in 
the  discharge  of  our  duty  no  harm  shall  befall  you, 
but  if  any  of  you  make  an  outcry  or  a  move  I  won't  be 
responsible  for  your  continued  good  health." 

"Oh,  please  don't  hurt  us ;  you  can  take  all  we  have/' 
cried  the  ladies. 

"Come,  Merrill,  hurry  up  and  collect  the  dough." 

As  Merrill  approached  the  machine  one  of  the  men 
made  a  motion  as  if  to  lower  xhis  hands. 

"Look  out,  there !"  roared  Tracy. 

Terrified  by  the  ferocious  tone  of  the  robber,  the 
man  stiffened  his  arms  skyward  until  they  were  as  rigid 
as  the  horns  of  a  mountain  goat. 

"Get  down  and  out,  all  of  you/'  shouted  Tracy, 
"and  line  up.  Now,  hurry  up  there,  Merrill.  That 
dinner's  waiting  for  you." 

In  a  few  seconds  Merrill  had  relieved  the  party  of 
all  their  money  and  valuables,  amounting  to  a  good 


TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW.  99 

rouna  sum.  One  of  the  men,  with  a  quick  motion, 
thrust  his  hand  in  his  inside  vest  pocket  when  he 
thought  Tracy  wasn't  looking  at  him  and  tossed  a 
fat  roll  of  $800  in  the  tall  grass  just  behind  him. 

"You  pick  that  money  up  and  bring  it  over  here  to 
me/'  yelled  Tracy,  "or  I'll  make  you  look  like  a 
Switzer  cheese  full  of  holes!" 

"I'll  bring  you  the  money,"  groaned  the  man. 
"Please  don't  shoot." 

"How  are  the  roads  around  about  here?"  asked 
.Tracy  of  one  of  the  ladies. 

"Very  good,"  answered  the  lady,  trembling  with 
fright. 

"You  needn't  be  alarmed,  lady ;  we  don't  hurt  worn-* 
en,"  said  Tracy,  and  the  same  time,  moving  around  and" 
examining  the  machine.    "I  don't  T  .iow  whether  I  can 
run  this  machine  or  not.    My  long  suit  for  travel  is  a 
saddle." 

"You're  not  going  to  take  the  machine,  are  you?" 
asked  Me/rill  in  surprise,  his  mouth  wide  agape. 

"Ain't  I  though  ?"_retorted  Tracy.    "Just  watch  me." 

Tracy  then  ordered  the  party  to  precede  him  a  short 
distance  off  the  road  into  the  woods,  and  there  he  tied 
the  men  securely,  and  the  women  he  fastened  to  the 
trees,  using  thongs  stripped  from  their  clothing. 

Climbing  into  the  automobile,  Tracy  started  off  at 


IOO  TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW, 

full  speed  northward,  never  stopping  until  the  motive 
power  had  been  exhausted. 

"Now  for  that  dinner,  Merrill,"  laughed  Tracy  as 
the  bandits  left  the  machine  and  struck  out  across 
country. 

Tracy  and  Merrill  wandered  about  in  this  section  of 
the  country  for  several  months,  holding  up  banks,  sa- 
loons, stores  or  whatever  else  came  to  hand. 

Close-pressed  by  officers  of  the  law  who  had  begun  to 
awaken  to  the  numerous  depredations  committed  by  the 
two  bandits,  they  sought  refuge  with  a  gang  of  horse 
thieves  at  an  isolated  ranch,  where  they  remained  for 
several  weeks,  until  one  day  Merrill  became  involved  in 
a  dispute  with  one  of  the  gang,  and  this  precipitated 
a  fight  in  which  Tracy  cleaned  out  tke  whole  gang,  took 
what  arms,  ammunition  and  valuables  they  had  and 
started  for  Portland,  Oregon,  the  home  of  Merrill's 
mother  and  sister. 

The  Merrill's  were  natives  of  British  Columbia,  but 
removed  to  Portland  on  account  of  the  bad  repute 
in  which  the  family  was  held  on  account  of  the  crim- 
inal exploit*  of  the  son  and  Brother,  Dave  Merrill. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ARREST  OF  TRACY  AND  MERRILL  AT  PORTLAND. 

The  fall  of  1898  found  the  two  desperadoes  in  Port- 
land, Oregon,  at  the  home  of  Merrill's  mother,  where 
Tracy  first  met  Mollie  Merrill.  The  Merrill's  received 
the  two  men  with  great  hospitality.  They  were  both 
well  provided  with  money,  and  for  some  time  the 
town  was  not  startled  by  any  of  the  desperate  adven- 
tures of  Tracy  and  his  partner.  During'  this  period 
Tracy  paid  marked  attention  to  Merrill's  sister,  and  in 
a  short  time  won  the  affection  of  the  young  woman 
and  they  were  married. 

After  his  marriage  Tracy  went  with  his  bride  to  live 
at  the  rooming-house  of  a  Mrs.  Ryan,  to  whom  he 
represented  himself  as  a  locomotive  engineer  on  the 
Puget  Sound  night  run. 

There  was  a  restaurant  in  the  house,  and  there 
Tracy  and  his  wife  took  their  meals,  though  oftcner 
than  otherwise  he  carried  his  wife's  mea^  tr»  her  in 

101 


103  .RA€Y,  THE  OUTLAW. 

their  room,  which  gave  rise  to  the  rumor  that  she  was 
a  woman  in  delicate  health.  % 

In  appearance  she  was  slim  and  sickly  looking, 
though  it  afterwards  became  known  that  her  ill-health 
was  more  feigned  than  real. 

Tracy  denied  his  wife  nothing.  "No  luxury  is  too 
good  for  her,"  he  often  said  to  Mrs.  Ryan  when  she 
met  him  carrying  to  his  room  the  nicest  delicacies  that 
the  restaurant  afforded.  For  several  months  this  sort 
of  life  continued.  Tracy  was  not  very  active  in  crime 
at  this  time,  although  he  committed  several  minor  rob- 
beries at  night,  but  his  absence  from  his  rooming-house 
was  neither  commented  upon  nor  wondered  at,  as  his 
ostensible  employment  as  a  night  engineer  naturally 
allayed  all  suspicions. 

In  the  winter  of  1899  Tracy  and  Merrill  began 
to  feel  the  want  of  money  again,  and  then  began  a 
series  of  daring  hold-ups  which  terrorized  the  whole 
city. 

All  kinds  of  stores  and  street  cars  were  held  up  in 
broad  daylight,  after  Tracy's  bold  method  of  pro- 
'  cedure. 

The  robbers  would  enter  a  store,  and  while  Tracy 
held  the  occupants  lined  up,  Merrill  would  go  through 
the  cash  drawers  and  secure  the  booty. 

Desptiring  of  capturing  the  perpetrators  of  these 


,  THE  OUTLAW.  IOJ 

numerous  daring  deeds  by  any  ordinary  meai.j,  a  large 
force  of  detectives  was  assigned  to  the  special  duty 
of  ferreting  out  the  mystery.  Finally  two  detectives, 
Ford  and  Cordano,  stumbled  on  to  a  clue  and  sus- 
pected Merrill  as  probably  one  of  them,  and  located 
him  at  the  home  of  his  mother. 

Then  they  proceeded  to  make  a  capture. 

Just  after  supper  one  evening  a  large  force  appeared 
at  the  Merrill  home.  Some  one  of  the  officers  knocked 
at  the  front  door. 

Always  on  the  alert,  Mrs.  Merrill  fussed  around  a 
while,  and  then  called  out :  "Who's  there  ?" 

This  was  the  preconcerted  signal  warning  the  men 
of  danger. 

Tracy  and  Merrill  were  both  in  the  front  room  when 
the  officer  knocked,  but  immediately  upon  receiving 
the  signal  from  Mrs.  Merrill  ran  to  the  back  of  the 
house. 

Several  of  the  officers  were  at.  the  back  door,  while  . 
the  others  were  at  the  front  waiting  to  be  admitted. 

"I'm  an  officer;  open  the  door,"  answered  a  voice 
from  the  outside  in  reply  to  Mrs.  Merriirs  inquiry, 
"who's  there?" 

"AH  right/'  replied  Mrs.  Merrill,  but  she  made  no 
move  to  comply. 


r0$  TRACY,   THE.  OUTLAW 

"Break  the  door  in,  Jimmy/1  cried  the  voice  from 
outside — probably  that  of  a  high  official  with  a  fat 
salary  which  he  didn't  care  to  trade  for  a  crown  in 
the  harper's  loft. 

"Not  on  you  tintype,"  answered  the  man  addressed. 
"I've  got  a  wife  and  family,  too." 

"Coward!"  ejaculated  the  first  speaker.     "If  you 
don't,  I'll  get  someone  who  has  grit  enough  to  do  it. 
But  for  my  rheumatism  I'd  break  that  door  in  my 
self." 

"Yes,  I  see  you/'  muttered  the  other  one. 

Just  then  the  back  door  fell  in  with  a  loud  crash.  A 
dozen  men  had  battered  it  in  with  a  pi-ece  of  heavy 
timber. 

The  officers  rushed  in,  and,  seeing  no  one  but  Mrs. 
Merrill,  ran  through  to  the  front  and  opened  the  door, 
letting  the  others  in. 

"I  don't  see  anyone  here  but  the  old  lady."  said  De- 
tective Ford. 

"They  must  be, hid  aw?y -somewhere,"  replied  Of- 
ficer Cardano. 

"Well,  let's  search/1  said  Ford, 

They  began  by  trying  the  door  of  a  little  room  form- 
ing a  wing  to  the  main  structure.  This  door  wa« 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  IO$ 

"Open  that  door,  old  woman!"  shouted  Cordano. 

"You'll  have  to  do  it  yourself,"  replied  Mrs.  Merrill. 

The  timber  was  again  impressed  into  service,  and  the 
door  fell  in  splinters. 

"Surrender!"  shouted  a  dozen  officers,  all  crowded 
together  and  peeping  into  the  room  from  around  the 
door  jamb. 

"Oh,  go  in ;  there's  no  one  there  to  hurt  you/'  piped 
Mrs.  Merrill.  Assuring  themselves  that  there  was  no 
one  in  the  room  covering  them  with  a  gun,  the  officers 
strutted  in,  revolvers  in  hand,  and  began  to  ransack  the 
place,  stripping  the  bed,  peering  under  it  and  exam- 
ining the  windows  to  see  if  anyone  had  escaped  by  that 
way. 

Pretty  soon  they  gave  up  the  seci  ch,  when  someone 
suggested  that  they  look  in  the  bureau  drawers. 

One  by  one  the  drawers  were  pulled  out,  and  when 
they  reached  the  lowest  one  there  they  found  Merrill, 
all  crouched  up  and  in  such  a  position  that  he  could 
not  use  his  gun. 

"Surrender  or  well  shoot !"  shouted  a  doaen  officers, 
poking  their  guns  in  the  man's  ribs. 

"I  gness  I  might  as  well  give  up,"  said  Merrill. 

Meanwhile  Tracy,  who  was  in  a  room  up  stairs, 
jumped  from  the  window  into  the  yard. 

the  officers  wk>  saw  &&*  but 


106  THACV,  THE  OUTLAW. 

no  attempt  was  made  just  then  to  do  it,  as  Tracy 
carried  his  guns  in  his  hands  ready  for  action. 

"Don't  take  my  boy !"  plead  Mrs.  Merrill.  "He  has 
committed  no  crime,  but  when  the  lot  of  you  went  into 
that  room  after  Dave  I  expected  to*see  you  all  carried 
out  dead,  but  I  guess  you  got  the  boy  at  a  disad- 
vantage." 

"That'll  do,  old  woman/'  snarled  Fa  1 

• 

"Why  don't  you  go  after  Tracy?"  sneered  Mrs. 
Merrill.  "He's  not  all  bundled  up  in  a  drawer  now." 

Made  furious  by  the  taunts  of  the  woman  a  number 
of  the  officers  started  in  pursuit  of  Tracy,  but  the 
bandit,  fleet, of  foot,  outdistanced  them,  and,  reaching 
the  railroad  tracks,  he  sprang  upon  the  steps  of  a  pass- 
ing engine,  leaped  into  the  cab,  and  covering  the  engi- 
neer, yelled : 

"Pull  that  throttle  wide  open  and  get  a  move  on  or 
I'll  blow  your  block  off!" 

Suddenly  the  train  stopped,  and  Tracy's  fury,  now 
thoroughly  aroused,  roared: 
.    "If  you  don't  start  this' train  at  once  I'll  shoot/5 

"I  can't,"  plead  the  engineer.  "Somebody  .has  used 
the  emergency  brake.  I'd  move  if  I  could." 

Tracy  was  quick  to  realize  the  situation,  and  satisfied 
that  the  engineer  was  telling  the  truth,  he  jumped 
from  the  engine  and  struck  out  for  the  town,  when 


TRAGY,   THE  OUTLAW.  IO/ 

someone  fired  a  shot  which  struck  him  a  glancing  blow 
on  the  head,  stunning  him  and  causing  him  to  stumble 
and  fall. 

When  Tracy  recovered  he  found  himself  in  a  .cell 
at  the  jail.' 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

TRACY  PLANS  HIS  ESCAPE  FROM  OREGON   PRISON. 

Great  precaution  was  taken  by  the  Sheriff  to  keep 
Tracy  and  Merrill  from  having  any  intercourse  with 
one  another  during  their  confinement  for  fear  of  a 
jail  delivery. 

Both  men  were  convicted  and  sentenced  to  terms  in 
the  penitentiary,  Tracy  to  20  years  and  Merrill  to  13. 

One  day  the  jailer  opened  Tracy's  cell  to  take  him 
to  court  for  sentence.  The  moment  the  door  was 
opened  Tracy  whipped  out  a  revolver,  of  which  he  had 
in  'Some  mysterious  manner  obtained  possession,  and 
ordered  the  jailer  to  unlock  all  the  cells. 

"Do  as  I  tell  you,"  hissed  Tracy,  "or  I  kill  you." 

"All  right,  Tracy,  I'll  open  the  doors,"  and  the  jailer 
began  to  fumble  with  the  keys  as  if  reeking  the  right 
ones.  Seeing  a  deputy  sheriff  and  several  other  of 
the  jail  attendants  standing  in  jthe  corridor  a  few  feet 
away,  the  jailer  suddenly  fell  to  the  ground,  which 
gave  the  others  an  opportunity  to  open  fire  on  Traey, 

T08 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  109 

which  they  did,  but  without  cifect.  Tracy  then  dodged 
around  the  corner  of  the  corridor,  but  in  doing  so 
slipped  and  fell,  and  before  he  could  recover  himself 
and  get  his  dread  gun  into  action  several  men  pounced 
upon  him  and  he  was  soon  overpowered  and  disarmed^ 

The  following  day  Tracy  and  Merrill  were  taken 
to  the  Oregon  State  Penitentiary  at  Salem. 

The  two  convicts,  by  some  incomprehensible  stu- 
pidity on  the  part  of  the  prison  officials,  were  placed 
in  the  same  cell. 

For  them  nothing  could  have  been  more  acceptable 
than  this.  Immediately  the  two  convicts  began  to  plan 
for  an  escape.  They  made  the  acquaintance  and  won 
the  friendship  of  Harry  Wright,  a  fellow-convict, 
whose  term  was  shortly  to  expire. 

Tracy  made  lavish  promises  of  recompense  to  this 
man — and  wrhich  he  later  on  fulfilled  to  the  letter — 
if  he  \vould  agree  to  aid  in  his  and  Merrill's  escape. 

"Get  us  Winchesters  and  plenty  of  ammunition  and 
all  h — 1  can't  hold  us  here,"  said  Tracy. 

Wright  promised  to  carry  out  any  plan  which  Tracy 
might  formulate. 

At  this  time  Tracy  and  Merrill  were  working  in  the 
stove  foundry. 

"Here  is  a  letter  to  my  wife/'  said  Tracy  to  Wright. 
"When  you  are  free  take  it  to  her.  She  will  trust  you 


IIO  TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW. 

and  raise  what  money  you  may  require  for  the  arms 
and  other  expenses.  It  will  be  worth  $5,000  to  you 
within  a  year  if  we  succeed. 

Another  letter  was  written  by  Merrill  to  his  sister, 
Mrs.  Mollie  Tracy,  in  Portland.  One  page  of  this 
letter,  advising  her  as  to  the  details  of  the  plan  and 
preparing  her  for  the  visit  of  Wright  ,was  written  in 
an  invisible  ink,  which  when  subjected  to  a  chemical, 
known  to  the  woman,  became  clearly  distinct  and 
legible.  This  letter  passed  inspection  by  the  prison 
officials  and  was  received  by  Tracy's  wife,  who  care- 
lessly omitted  to  destroy  it,  and  in  some  way  it  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  authorities,  who  communicated 
wkh  the  superintendent  of  the  prison,  causing  Tracy 
to  abandon  this  project  for  a  time. 

But  Wright,  who  was  sincerely  enlisted  in  behalf  of 
the  men,  determined^  carry  out  the  plan  without  the 
aid  of  Tracy's  wife,  who  was  kept  under  constant 
surveillance  by  the  police. 

A  few  days  after  the  discovery  of  the  plot  as  re- 
vealed by  the  letter  to  Tracy's  wife,  Wright;  stole  a 
horse  and  buggy  in  Salem  and  drove  it  to  Portland, 
where  he  sold  it,  devoting  the  proceeds  to  the  pur- 
chase of  rifles  and  ammunition. 

He  then  returned  to  Salem  and  secreted  the  arms 
near  the  prison,  awaiting  a  favorable  opportunity  to 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW,  JII 

place  them  in  one  of  the  pattern  cases  indicated  to  him 
by  Tracy. 

One  dark  night  Wright  climbed  up  on  a  wagon  shed 
which  was  built  up  against  the  north  side  of  the  prison 
wall  on  the  outside.  From  this  shed  he  gained  the  top 
of  the  wall  and  let  himself  down  with  a  rope  ladder 
unobserved  by  the  guards.  Hastily  entering  the  foun- 
dry, he  deposited  Ihe  rifles  and  ammunition  in  the 
pattern  case.  He  then  made  several  marks  here  and 
there,  with  chalk,  calculated  to  catch  the  eye  of  Tracy, 
which  was  the  sign  agreed  upon  to  advise  the  conspi- 
rators that  the  guns  were  at  the  place  designated. 
Wright  was  aided  by  an  ex-guard,  whom  he  had,'  for 
a  consideration,  interested  in  the  scheme.  This  man, 
being  well  acquainted  with  all  the  prison  officials,  had 
no  trouble  to  ascertain,  in  a  casual- way,  where  Tracy 
and  Merrill  were  working,  and  he  learned  that  they 
were  still  at  their  old  places  in  the  stove  foundry. 

Wright  succeeded  in  evading  the  guards,  and  gain- 
ing the  outside  of  the  prison,  left  Salem  that  night, 
confident  that  everything  was  done  to  insure  success. 
In  this  he  was  right. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

TRACY    ESCAPES    FROM    OREGON    PRISON. 

One  morning  in  June,  1902,  according  to  custom,  the 
prisoners  were  marched  out  to  their  different  shops. 
Tracy  and  Merrill  were  taken  to  the  stove  foundry, 
where  a  guard  named  Frank  Ferrell  was  stationed  on 
duty. 

Immediately  upon  entering  the  foundry  Tracy  no- 
ticed the  secret  marks  in  chalk,  and  making  a  dash 
for  die  pattern  case,  seized  a  rifle  and  shot  Ferrell 
dead.  The  other  guard  ran  away,  thus  saving  his  life, 
although  Tracy  fired  at  him  as  he  retreated,  but  another 
knocked  the  rifle  up,  diverting  his  aim.  For  this  Tracy 
shot  the  convict,  wounding  him  severely.  By  this  time 
Merrill  had  possessed  himself  of  the  other  rifle,  and 
all  of  the  guards  were  chased  out  of  the  foundry. 

The  two. men  then  rushed  out  of  the  foundry  by  a 
rear  door  and  dodged  behind  a  pile  of  boxes  and 
began  firing  at  the  guards  upon  the  wall.  Two  of  the 
guards  fell  wounded  into  the  yard.  By  this  time  the 
guards  were  thoroughly  demoralized,  and  none  of  them 

men. 


114  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

Tracy  hunted  up  a  ladder,  and  by  its  aid  the  men 
reached  the  top  of  .the  wall.  Here  they  espied  within 
'  range  a  guard  named  S.  I.  Jones,  whom  Tracy  shot 
and  instantly  killed.  All  the  other  guards  on  the  wall 
sought  safety  from  the  rapid  fire  of  Tracy  and  in  a 
few  moments  the  bandits  had  full  possession  of  the 
wall. 

When  they  saw  that  they  were  in  no  further  danger 
from  the  rifles  of  the  guards  they  leisurely  pulled  the 
ladder  up  from  the  inside  and  lowered  it  on  the  out- 
side of  the  wall,  from  which  they  descended  to  free- 
dom. 

After  advancing  a  short  distance  from  the  ladder 
they  encountered  two  other  guards,  Tiffany  and  Ross, 
whom  they  promptly  disarmed,  and  used  them  to  cover 
their  retreat,  keeping  up  a  running  fire  at  the  guards 
who  had  returned  to  the  wall.  When  they  were,  as 
they  supposed,  far  enough  away  to  dispense  with  the 
two  guards  as  improvised  breastworks  they  turned 
them  loose,  but  Tracy  suspecting  that  they  were  going 
to  follow  them,  shot  Tiffany  dead,  and  Ross  saved  his 
life  by  falling  and  feigning  death. 

At  this  point  there  was  a  creek  well  bordered  with 
low  brush.  Into  this  brush,  which  afforded  them 
ample  concealment,  the  men  disappeared,  and  made 
gpod  their  escape. 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW . 

In  a  short  time  the  whole  population  had  been  in- 
formed of  an  escape  by  the  ringing  of  the  prison  bell 
and  the  news  which  had  passed  rapidly  from  mouth 
to  mouth.  All  sorts  of  wild  rumors  were  current. 
Some  had  it  that  there  had  been  a  general  delivery, 
that  all  the  convicts  had  escaped  and  nearly  all  the 
officials  murdered.  The  excitement  was  intense.  The 
citizens  rushed  for  their  homes  and  locked  them- 
selves in. 

The  confusion  in  ,the  penitentiary  was  no  less 
marked.  None  of  the  officials  or  guards  dared  go 
near  the  shops.  Finally,  upon  the  suggestion  of  a 
trusty  convict,  an  expedient  was  resorted  to  wKich  no 
doubt  prevented  a  general  rising  and  more  bloodshed. 
This  convict  offered  to  go  to  the  shops  with  a  flag 
of  truce  and  advise  the  others  to  go  to  their  cells 
quietly,  as  the  prison  was  surrounded  by  armed  men 
and  that  any  attempt  to  escape  was  doomed  to  failure 
Those  of  the  convicts  who  may  have  contemplated 
Baking  advantage  of  the  occasion  to  escape  changed 
cheir  minds,  and  they  all  returned  to  their  cells. 

Meanwhile  the  telephone  wires  were  kept  busy  con- 
v.ying  the  news  to  different  Sheriffs  and  the  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State,  and  immediately  large  posses, 
under  Sheriffs  Durbin  and  Colboth,  together  with  a 
company  of  militia,  were  on  the  scene. 


Jl6  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

Large  rewards  were  promptly  offered  for  the  cap- 
ture, dead  or  alive,  of  the  outlaws,  and  the  country 
was  flooded  with  printed  notices  of  the  escape  and 
the  reward,  together  with  a  minute  description  of 
the  fugitives. 

From  time  to  time  the  rewards  were  increased  until 
eventually  they  amounted  to  about  $8,000. 

The  outlaws  remained  concealed  in  the  bush  until 
well  after  dark,  when  they  entered  the  town  in  search 
of  clothing  and  horses. 

They  loitered  about  in  the  less-conspicuous  neigh- 
borhoods until  quite  late,  when  they  met  a  man  on  his 
way  to  his  home.  They  stopped  him,  took  his  money 
and  clothing  and  terrified  him  to  such  a  degree  that 
the  man  went  to  his  home  and  did  not  dare  come 
out  again  to  report  the  robbery  until  late  next  morn- 
ing. The  robbery  of  an  expressman's  office  supplied 
them  with  whatever  other  clothing  they  needed. 

They  then  broke  ihto  the  barn  of  another  citizen, 
stole  two  horses  and  saddles  and  rode  out  of  town. 
The  boldness  of  these  proceedings  completely  non- 
f  l:i* -Fed  the  officers,  who  never  once  imagined  that  they 
would  have  the  hardihood  to  penetrate  right  into  the 
town  so  soon  after  their  esca>>»  out  little  they  knew 
of  Tracy's  audacity  and  nerv*-. 

All  track  of  the  outlaws  Laving  been  k>£»  blood- 


TRACT,  THE  OUTLAW.  H7 

hounds  were  brought  into  requisition  the  following 
morning  at  daybreak. 

It  was  not  until  about  noon  that  the  dogs  were 
able  to  take  up  the  scent,  which  they  got  from  the.. 
clothing  that  the  bandits  had  exchanged  with  the  first 
man  they  held  up.  The  hounds,  soon  lost  the  scent, 
however,  and  were  then  taken  to  the  penitentiary, 
H-here  they  were  given  the  blankets  which  the  men 
,td  used,  hoping  in  this  way  to  familiarize  them  with 
:ne  scent  Again  they  started  on  the  trail,  but  with 
the  same  results  as  the  first  attemjft,  and  then^the 
pursuit  with  the  hounds  was  abandoned. 

At  4  o'clock  on  the  morning  after  the  escape  the 
outlaws  appeared  at  the  r-bin  of  a  woodchopper,  about 
fifteen  miles  from  Salem.  i'j  -y  asked  for  breakfast, 
which  was*  furnished  them. 

The  woodchopper  had  hea  1  nothing  of  the  escape, 
but  from  the  numerous  questions  which  he  was  asked 
about  the  surrounding  country,  coupled  with  the  fact 
that  the  men  were  heavily  armed,  his  suspicions  were 
aroused,  and,  concluding  that  all  was  not  right,  he 
went  to  Gervain,  a  station  nearby,  on  the  Southern 
Pacific  Railroad,  and  imparted  the  information  to  the 
agent,  who,  having  been. informed  of  the  escape,  com- 
municated immediately  ^ith  the  authorities  at  Salem. 

The  posses  repaired  at  once  to  Gervais,  calculating 


IlS  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

to  remain  there  that  night  and  resume  the  hunt  in  the 
morning". 

Although  Tracy  and  Merrill  knew  that  their  pur- 
suers were  in  the  village,  they  came  boldly  out  of  the 
timber  and  paraded  through  the  town,  purchasing  such 
supplies  as  they  needed  and  passing  to  and  fro  within 
arm's  length  of  their  pursuers,  who  were  sitting  about 
in  groups  and  boasting  to  each  other  of  what  they 
were  going  to  do  to  Tracy  when  they  ran  up  against 
him. 

After  laying  in  their  supplies  the  two  outlaws  stalked 
leisurely  out  of  the  town. 

Just  as  they  reached  the  public-  highway  they  met 
another  posse  coming  into  the  village.  Two  of  the 
posse,  prominent  citizens,  were  m  a  buggy.  Tracy 
and  Merrill  got  the  drop  on  them,  made  them  throw 
down  their  guns,  robbed  them  of  all  they  had  in  money 
and  valuables,  and,  after  appropriating  their  arms 
and  ammunition,  made  them  face  about  and  do  the 
'  goosewalk  till  out  of  rifle  range.  Then  they  jumped 
into  the  buggy,  drove  back  into  the  village,  through 
the  main  street  and  out  of  town. 

There  was  no  resistance  offered  :>*-  attempt  at  cap- 
ture made.  When  the  citizens  saw  the  posses  they 
conjectured  the  close  proximity  of  the  outlaws,  and 
fled  to  their  homes,  locking  and  bolting  their  doors. 


TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW. 


A  short  distance  out  of  the  town  the  outlaws  aban- 
doned the  horse  and  buggy  and  settled  down  for  the 
night  in  an  open  space  from  which  they  could  com- 
mand a  good  view  in  every  direction. 

As  soon  as  day  broke  they  took  to  the  timber  and 
returned  to  the  woodchopper's  cabin,  where  they  again 
took  breakfast. 

"I  guess  by  this  time  you  -have  discovered  who  we 
are/'  said  Tracy,  as  the  woodchopper  stood  in  his 
doorway. 

"Yes,"  said  the  woodciroppe.r,  "I  know  now." 

"Yes,  and  the  posse  in  Gervais  know  that  we  were 
here  for  breakfast  yesterday,"  rejoined  Tracy. 

"Yes/'  replied  the  woodchopper,  turning  pale  with 
fright,  "but  I  didn't  tell  them.  I  didn't  know  who 
you  were  then,  and  when  I  went  into  the  village  I  hap- 
pened to  mention  to  the  station  agent  that  I  had  to 
come  in  town  a  little  ahead  of  time  for  supplies,  as  I 
had  some  company  that  I  didn't  expect  and  my  grub 
had  run  out." 

"Oh,  that's  all  right/'  laughed  Tracy;  "don't  make 
any  difference.  They'd  know,  anyhow,  that  we're 
around,  for  we  held  up  one  posse  last  night.  Those  fel- 
lows oughtn't  to  come  out  without  a  guardian.,  I  won- 
der where  they  got  all  the  mone;'  and  things  they 
gave  us?1' 


I*O  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

The  robbers  treated  the  woodchopper  very  consider- 
ately, paid  him  for  his  meals ;  but  were  careful  not  to 
let  their  rifles  get  out  of  their  hands,  and  before  eat- 
ing made  a  thorough  search  of  the  cabin.  After 
breakfast  the  robbers  took  their  departure. 

"Be  sure  you  don't  inform  on  us,  now  that  you 
know  us,"  said  Tracy  as'they  left,  "foi  if  you  do  we'll 
certainly  come  back  here  within  a  month  and  kill 
you." 

Meanwhile  the  place  near  Gervais  where  the  out- 
laws camped  again  the  next  night  was  surrounded  by 
several  strong  posses,  all  stimulated  by  the  tempting 
rewards,  which  were  rapidly  increasing. 

"I  guess  we'll  have  to  skin  out  of  here  in  the  morn- 
ing," said  Tracy.  'They've  got  us  at  a  disadvantage. 
We  are  entirely  surrounded." 

"Do  you  think  they'll  move  on  us  tonight?"  asked 
Merrill 

"Not  much!"  replied  Tracy.  "They  don't  seem  to 
take  any  too  many  chances  in  daylight.  Anyway,  we'll 
take  a  rest  for  a  few  hours  and  get  away  before  dawn." 

Saying  this,  Tracy  rolled  himself  up  in  his  blanket 
and  went  to  sleep  with  as  little  concern  as  if  he  had 
been  snugly  tucked  in  between  the  sheets  of  a  luxuries 
ted  iatiae  &al&x»  Hotel* 


f  THE  OUTLAW.  fit 

Just  before  daybreak  the  bandits  slipped  through 
the  cordon  of  the  posses  and  entered  the  tall  timber. 

During  the  night  the  guards  kept  up  a  desultory  and 
aimless  fire,  more  for  the  edification  of  one  another, 
no  doubt,  than  with  any  expectation  of  hitting  the 
fugitives,  as  it  was  very  dark  and  impossible  to  dis- 
tinguish arty  object  beyond  a  very  limited  distance. 

Tracy  and  Merrill  appeared  that  morning  at  a  farm- 
house, where  they  demanded  and  received  breakfast 
Tracy  kept  the  members  of  the  family  on  one  side  of 
the  room  and  in  front  of  him  while  he  eat,  but  laid 
his  rifle  across  his  knees,  handy  for  instant  action. 

"If  you  are  wise  and  behave  yourselves  we  are  not 
going  to  hurt  you/'  assured  Tracy.  "We  are  not  out 
to  injure  poor  $eopler~  All  we  are  looking  for  is  to 
escape  pursuit  "* 

"But  the  papers  say  you've  killed  a  good  many 
people,  Mr.  Tracy,"  ventured  the  farmer's  wife. 

"That  may  be,"  replied  the  outlaw,  "but  if  they'd 
been  attending  to  their  own  business  some  of  them 
wouldn't  have  been  killed.  As  to  the  guards  we  shot — 
well,  what  of  it?  It  was  either  choot  or  get  shot,  and  I 
never  take  a  fool's  choice." 

After  breakfast  Tra^y  ha.ided  the  farmer's  wife  a 
one-dollar  bill,  which  she  at  first  hesitated  to  accept. 

"Oh,  take  it,"  said  Tracy,  "you've  been  very  good  to 


t*2  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

us  so. far,  and  we  don't  want  to  eat  your  food  for 
nothing.  But,  mind  now,  don't  tell  those  fellows  who'll 
be  along  this  way  pretty  soon  which  way  we've  gone. 
We're  going  south,  but  you  can  tell  them  that  we  went 
north." 

And  north  they  did  go,  and  Tracy's  cunning  artifice 
worked  just  as  he  intended  it  should. 

Shortly  after  the  departure  of  the  outlaws,  one  of 
the  posses  rode  up  to  the  farmhouse  and  inquired  if  two 
suspicious  men,  heavily  armed,  had  been  seen  around 
there. 

"Yes,"  answered  the  farmer's  wife,  "and  they^went 
south." 

The  outlaws  turned  up  next  at  a  farmhouse  about 
ten  miles  north.  Here  they  dined  ana  bought  a  supply 
of  bacon  and  other  necessaries  from  the  farmer. 

"Do  you  know  me  ?"  asked  Tracy. 

"N-o-o-o-o,  no  !"  said  the  farmer.  But  he  had  recog- 
nized the  men  as  soon  as  they  appeared  at  his  door. 

"Well,,  I'm  Tracy,  and  we've  treated  you  all  right, 
paid  you  for  what  we  got  aiatf  haven't  hurt  anybody,  s6 
be  careful  that  you  don't  inform  on  us.  How  far  is 
it  from  here  to  Portland  ?" 

"I  don't  know  said  the  farmer.  "Are  you  going  to 
Portland?'' 

"Yes,"  answered  Tracy,  "that's  my  home,  and  I've 


TRACY,    THE   OUTLAW.  12$ 

got  10  stop  there  and  see  my  folks  for  a  few  hours, 
anyway." 

-Leaving  the  farmer  secure  in  his  belief  that  he 
knew  their  contemplated  movements,  the  outlaws 
struck  into  the  timber,  and  when  out  of  sight  started 
in  just  the  opposite  direction  from  that  which  they 
told  the  farmer  they  would  take. 

By  this  time  the  whole  country  presented  the  aspec . 
of  a  very  respectable  South  -  American  revolution, 
Posses,  groups  of  three  and  four,  pairs  of  armed  men 
and  single  individuals,  all  out  for  fame,  glory  and 
the  alluring  reward,  could  be  seen  everywhere  scour- 
ing the  country.  .Sheriff  Durbin  and  a  guard,  with 
bloodhounds  and  300  of  the  State  militia,  were  in  the 
field,  and  the  hunt  looked  as  if  it  had  begun  in  dead 
earnest. 

.  From  one  county  to  another  the  pursuit  was  con- 
tinued, but  the  generalship  of  the  elusive  Tracy  was 
too  much  for  the  granger  posses  and  the  tin  soldiers. 
With  consummate  skill  he  eluded  his '  pursuers  at 
every  turn.  When  they  thought  they  had  him  and  his 
pardner  surrounded  by  an  impenetrable  cordon  of  rifles 
in  a  dense  clump  of  firs  the  outlaws  would  be  twenty 
miles  away,  and  wher  the  pursuing  army  closed  in 
upon  their  expected  j>rey  they  would  find  the  cold 
cinders  of  an  extinct  campfire,  with  the  scattered  rem- 


.124  XRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

nants  of  a  repast  and  some  old  clothes  wmcn 
bindits  had  discarded   for  others  more  recently  ac- 
quired. 

This  section  of  the  country  was-particularly  adapted 
to  further  the  projects  of  the  bandits"  It  seemed 
almost  as  if  nature  had  designed  it  especially  to  facili- 
tate their  escape.  Dense  timber,  suddenly  breaking  now 
and  then  into  open,  undulating  spaces  seamed  with/ 
deep  ravines ;  river  bottoms  covered  with  heavy  under- 
growth, here  and  there  little  hills  from  which  the  sur- 
roundings could  be  surveyed  and  from  which  the  fugi- 
tiyes  could  in  a  few  moments,  at  a  brisk  trot,  dis- 
appear in  a  maze  of  brush  and  be  completely  lost  to 
view. 

F  >r  several  days  the  large  forces  in  pursuit  patrolled 
the  country  in  every  direction  The  bloodhounds  were 
kept  constantly  in  the  field,  but  with  no  better  results 
than  occasionally  picking  up  a  trail  and  as  promptly 
losing  it  again. 

"The  two-legged  hounds  that  are  hunting  us  give 
me  very  little  concern,"  said  Tracy  one  day  as  they 
were  frying  their  bacon  over  a  fire  in  the  wilderness, 
"but  those  bloodhounds  are  troublesome.  One  can- 
not trust  himself  to  sleep  while  they  hold  the  scent. 
Then  they'll  come  right  in  on  us,  whilst  then  others  are 
more  discreet.'* 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  125 

"We'll  have  to  find  some  way  to  throw  the  dogs  off 
the  trail/'  said  Merrill. 

"Yes/'  growled  Tracy,  scowling,  "and  I'm  on  to  a 
scheme  that'll  fool  'em." 

And  Tracy  made  good  his  promise.  From  that  time 
on  the  dogs  were  of  no  use  whatever.  They  would 
take  the  scent  at  some  farmhouse  where  the  outlaws 
had  been,  and  in  a  short  time  they  would  lose  it. 
Tracy  had  doubled  on  his  tracks,  struck  a  stream,  and 
the  dogs  were  baffled. 

No  character  ever  coined  from  the  most  fertile  im- 
agination of  lurid  fiction  writers  ever  equaled  Tracy 
for  audacious  impudence,  ingenuity  and  utter  fearless- 
ness in  the  face  of  de£th,  in  the  methods  he  employed  * 
to  elude  and  escape  his  pursuers. 

No  pursuer  was  anxious  to  get  within  range  of  his 
rifle  or  revolvers  unless  protected  by  some  shielding 
defense. 

The  outlaw's  long  experience  and  constant  practice 
had  developed  a  perfection  of  skill  in  the  handling  of 
arms  which  filled  with  amazement  all  who  had  ever 
witnessed  his  execution  with  rifle  or  revolver.  He  had 
no  superior  and  few  if  any  equals  in  that  wild  country 
where  to  shoot  and  ride  with  skill  were  the  foremost 
accomplishments. 

Tracy  shot  from  any  position  with  equal  facility  and 


126  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW* 

effect.  Keenly  alive  to  the  value  of  the  fractional  part 
of  a  second  in  an  encounter  with  arms,  Tracy  would 
shoot  from  his  hip,  with  deadly  results,  while  his  op- 
ponent was  raising  his  gun  to  his  shoulder.  If  pur- 
sued, the  outlaw,  while  in  flight,  could  keep  up  "a  run- 
ning fight,  shooting  back  under  his  arm,  just  turning 
his  head  sufficiently  to  see  the  object  of  his  marks- 
manship, and  every  time  his  rifle  or  revolver  Vang  out 
the  deadly  leaden  messenger  sped  straight  to  the  goal. 
This  phenomenal  skill,  coupled  with  his  total  absence 
of  fear,  is  the  explanation  of  the  abject  terror  which 
Tracy  inspired  in  the  minds  of  his  enemies  after  they 
had  pursued  him  for  a  few  days. 

"No  ordinary  criminal  is  that  man  Tracy,"  remarked 
one  of  the  Sheriffs  to  a  deputy. 

"No,  indeed,'5  replied  the  other,  "the  fellow 
seems  to  be  invulnerable.  He  must  bear  a  charmed 
life.  He'll  stand  right  out  in  the  face  of  volley  after 
volley  and  shoot  back  till  his  rifle  is  empty.  Then  he 
stalks  deliberately  off,  unscathed,  into  the  woods." 

"If  we  only-had  Tracy  with  us,"  laughed  the  Sheriff, 
"I  believe  he'd  walk  right  int~»  the  timber  alone  and 
capture  bimself  and  Merrill." 

"Yes,"  concurred  the  deputy,  "and  it  looks  almost 
like  a  pity  to  have  tc  kill  such  a  man.  The  nation 
needs  such  men  to  breed  from,  instead  of  the  little 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW*  I2/ 

yellow  serum  tender  feet  that  live  in  the  East,  wear 
jeweled  bracelets  on  their  arms,  paint  their  faces  like 
women  and  blow  all  the  money  that's  pumg^d  into 
Wall  street  out  of  the  resourceful  West." 

"If  we  could  only  chase  Tracy  into  Wall  street," 
rejoined  the  Sheriff,  "maybe  he'd  get  some  of  the 
money  back  again  and  bring  it  oat  West  to  us. 

"Anyway,"  laughed  the  deputy,  "he'd  show  'em  a 
more  honorable  way  to  hold  up  the  public/' 


CHAPTER  XV. 

HANDS  UP,    I'M   TRACY, 

A  number  of  tares  the  chase  was  given  up  and  the 
head  hunters  returned  to  their  homes,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  fe,  and  there,  and  no  doubt 
but  for  the  fact  the  fugitives  were  obliged  from  time 
-to  time  to  replenish  their  stock. of  supplies  at  some 
farmhouse  they  would  have  gotten  out  of  that  section 
of  the  country  and  far  beyond  pursuit ;  but  -as  soon  as 
their  reappearance  was  heard  of  other  posses  were 
quickly  organized,  atid  so  the  chase  continued. 

The  hardships  of  the  chase  were  beginning  to  tell 
upon  Merrill,  who  was  a  man  of  much  less  hardihood 
and  fortitude  than  Tracy,  From  time  to  time  he 
would  complain  of  the  delay  in  getting  no  further 
away  than  they  had  succeeded  in  doing. 

These  complaints. were  met.  by  scowls  and  angry  re- 
torts from  Tracy. 

"Look  here,  Dave/'  growled  Tracy  on  one  occasion 
when  his  patience  seemed  to  have  given  away  under 
the  constant  croaking  of  Merrill,  "I  don't  like  the  way 

128 


HANDS  UP,  I'M  TRACY. 

Page  129. 


I3O  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

you  are  acting.  You  didn't  expect  to  find  feather  beds 
and  a  printed  bill  of  fare  on' this  trip,  did  you?" 

"No,"  said  Merrill,  "but  Fin  tired  of  being  hunted 
this  way,  and  I  think  we  should  make  tracks  for  Port- 
land." 

"We're  doing  the  best  possible  under  the  circum- 
stances/' growled  Tracy,  "and'I  want  to  tell  you  one 
thin^,  young  fellow,  you'd  better  stick  by  me." 

Merrill  did  not  reply,  but  his  surly  silence  w#,  not 
lost  upon  'the  wily  Tracy,  whose  face  clouded  omi- 
nously as  he  fastened  his  glittering  eyes  on  his  weake'n- 
ing  pardner. 

"Come,"  grunted  Tracy,  "we'll  strike  out  for  the 
Columbia  River." 

The  men  started  off  at  a  brisk  gait,  keeping  in  the 
timber  skirting  the  road. 

They  had  not  proceeded  far  when  several  men  ap- 
peared riding  towards  them  in  the  road.  The  men 
were  all  armed  and  were  talking  and  laughing  as  they 
rode  along,  entirely  unconscious  of  the  proximity  of 
the  outlaws  until  the  terrible  voice  of  Tracy  roared 
out: 

"Hands  up,  I'm  Tracy !" 

Instantly  the  men  dropped  their  guns  and  threw  up 
their  hands. 

"I  guess  you  fellows  are  looking  for  us,"  sneered 


TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW.  13! 

Tracy.     "Well,  if  you  are,  you've  found  us.     Now 
you've  got  us,  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  us  ?" 

The  head  hunters — for  such  they  were — shifted  un- 
easily in  their  saddles  as  Merrill's  rifle  covered  first 
one  and  then  another,  but  they  said  nothing. 

"Well,"  bawled  Tracy,  "if  you're  not  going-  to  take 
us,  I  guess  we'll  take  you.  Now  dismount,  every 
bloody  one  of  you.  We  ought  to  blow  you  to  h — 1, 
but  I  guess  we'll  let  you  go  so  as  you  can  tell  the 
other  hunters  what  a  soft  snap  it  is  to  capture  Tracy." 

The  men  dismounted,  and  Tracy  commanded  them 
to  line  up  and -strip. 

When  they  had  removed  their  coats  Tracy  observed 
among  them  some  shields  shimmering  in  the  sun- 
light. 

"Ah,  ha!  Officers,  are  you?"  cried  Tracy,  with  a 
little  laugh  well  charged  with  the  sarcasm  which  he 
knew  so  well  how  to  inject  into  his  speech  upon  occa- 
sion. 

"Now  really,  fellows,  you  don't  want  Tracy  and 
that  big  reward  so  bad,  after  all." 

Then  addressing  Merrill,  he  continued .  "Take  a  few 
shots  at  'em,  Dave." 

"Oh,  no,  Mr.  Tracy !    Please  don't  shoot !    We  sur- 

4f 

render.    We'll  do  anything  you  say." 

"Well,  then,"  howled  Tracy,  "march  down  that  road 


132  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

and  don't  you  look  back,  and  if  you  don't  go  home  and 
stay  there,  the  next  time  we  catch  you  out  head  hunt- 
ing you'll  need  a  suit  of  boiler  iron." 

Glad  to  escape  with  their  lives,  the  men,  offering 
no  protest,  broke  into  a  run  down  the  road,  leaving 
their  arms,  valuables,  horses  and  much  of  their  cloth- 
ing in  the  possession  of  the  outlaws. 

"A  little  charity  is  a  good  thing  sometimes,  Merrill," 
said  Tracy.  "Now,  you  see  by  taking  those  fellows' 
arms  away  from  them  serious  accidents  may  be 
averted.  They  can't  hurt  themselves  now  and  leave  a 
horde  of  fatherless  kids?" 

This  grim  joke  seemed  to  tickle  Tracy,  and  he 
chuckled  at  his  witticism ;  but  Merrill  looked  gloomy. 
The  strain  was  wearing  upon  him. 

"What's  the  matter  with  you,  Dave?  Your  face  is 
getting  so  long  that  by  and  by  you'll  have  to  take  your 
trousers  off  to  blow  your  nose.  Don't  you  believe  in 
charity?"  queried  Tracy. 

"Oh,  yes,  Tracy,  that's  all  right  enough;  but  I'm 
,  anxious  to  get  out  of  this  country  and  reach  the 
•north." 

"Well,  ain't  we  moving  north?"  answered  Tracy, 
looking  curiously  at  his  partner  with  a  puzzled  ex- 
pression not  unmingled  wiJi  suspicion. 

Mounting  two  of  the  horses  and  Lading  the  others  a 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  133 

good  distance  up  the  road,  they  removed  the  saddles 
and  bridles  and  turned  them  loose  in  the  woods. 

A  few  hours  later  they  .met  a  farmer  driving  slowly 
along  in  his  wagon  and  reading  a  newspaper. 

"What's  the  news,  old  man  ?"  asked  Tracy,  stopping 
the  farmer. 

"They've  caught  Tracy  and  Merrill/'  answered  the 
farmer.  "By  jing,  there's  a  good  bit  o'  money  for 
somebody." 

"Got  'em  sure,  have  they  ?"  said  Tracy,  leaning  back 
in  his  saddle  and  exploding  with  laughter. 

"Yes,"  repMed  the  farmer,  "they've  got  Jem  sur- 
rounded in  a  patch  of  thickets  where  they  can't  get 
away.  Be  you  officers  ?" 

"No/'  replied  Tracy.  "We  are  tin  soldiers — belong 
to  the  militia.  I'm  General  Tracy  and  my  friend  here 
is  Major  Merrill." 

Looking  up  quickly,  the  farmer  took  in  the  situation 
at  a  glance  and  nearly  tumbled  off  his  seat. 

"Don't  throw  a  fit,  old  man,  said  Tracy,  noticing  the 
farmer's  perturbation.  "We'll  not  hurt  you,  but  you 
might  give  us  that  paper." 

Taking  the  paper  from  the  farmer,  Tracy  hastily 
scanned  the  headlines. 

"Well,  Dave,  they've  ^ot  the  militia  out  after  us 
again."  *, 


134  TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW. 

"Yes,  and  that's  for  hanging  around  in  these  parts 
so  long,"  growled  Merrill. 

"Did  you  see  the  soldiers,  old  man  ?"  asked  Tracy. 

"Yaas,"  drawled  the  farmer,  "they  be  stationed  about 
two  miles  up  the  road.  You're  going  right  agin  'em." 

"How  many  are  there  ?"  continued  Tracy. 

"Waal,  I  should  jedge  night  onto  four  hundred 
men,  soldiers  and  all." 

"Good-by,  old  man ;  here's  your  paper.  Come  along, 
Dave !"  cried  Tracy,  starting  forward.  The  outlaws 
proceeded  about  a  hundred  yards,  and  when  the  farmer 
was  out  of  sight  they  dismounted  and  led  their  hqrses 
into  the  woods. 

"Well  wait  here  till  nightfall,"  said  Tracy,  "and, 
meanwhile,  take  a  sleep.  We'll  need  to  be  fresh  for  the 
work  ahead  of  us." 

When  night  came  the  outlaws  mounted  their  horses 
and  started  northward  again. 

"I  don't  see  how  we're  going  to  get  through  such  a 
gang  as  that  waiting  for  us  up  yonder,"  said  Merrill. 

"Oh,  h — 1!  You  ne"\*er  see  anything  till  it's  done. 
Quit  your  croaking  and  follow  me !"  snarled  Tracy. 

"Hadn't  we  better  abandon  the  horses,  take  to  the 
woods  and  circle  around  'em  ?  It  seems  they  are  on  to 
us  and  trying  to  ihtercent  our  passage  north,"  said 
Merrill. 


TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW.  135 

"Intercept  your  grandmother !  Why,  man,  we  can 
ride  right  through  that  bunch  and  never  get  a  scratch. 
You  .are  so  anxious  to  get  north,  now  let's  make  a 
break  for  it.  If  we  take  to  the  Nwoods  they'll  start 
the  dogs  on  us  again,  and  then  we'll  lose  all  kinds  of 
time  doubling  on  our  track/'  said  Tracy. 

•"Of  course,  it  stands  us  in  to  reach  Washington  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  if  you  think  we  can  run  through 
their  lines,  I'm  ready,"  replied  Merrill. 

"Do  I  think  so?  Well,  just  you  watch  me/'  re- 
joined Tracy,  urging  his  horse  forward. 

For  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  the  men  rode  on  in 
silence  and  keenly  on  the  alert,  their  rifles  resting  on 
the  horns  of  their  saddles,  ready  for  instant  action. 

"Halt!"  fang  out  a  voice  sharp  and  clear. 

In  reply  Tracy  fired  in  the  direction  of  the  voice. 
Then  urging  the  horses  forward  at  full  speed,  they 
rode  through  the  line  of  soldiers,  firing  as  they  went 
and  howling  like  a  band  of  Comanche  Indians.  Before 
the  soldiers  recovered  from  their  surprise  the  outlaws 
were  lost  in  the^  darkness  of  the  night. 

"How  do  you  feel  now,  Merrill?"  asked  Tracy, 
snickering.  "That's  the  way  we  used  to  play  'Blind 
Man's  Buff'  when  I  was  a  boy  in  the  Ozark  Moun- 
tains. Just  shut  your  eyes  and  go." 


CHAPTER  XVI 

CAPTURED  BY  TRACY. 

Towards  the  latter  part  of  June  the  outlaws  ap- 
peared in  the  vicinity  of  Oregon.  Their  mounts  were 
fagged  out  and  jaded  and  showed  evidences  of  very 
hard  riding.  About  noon  they  rotle  up  to  a  farmhouse 
and  asked  for  dinner. 

-Have  you  heard  any  news  of  the  escaped  convicts?" 
asked  the  farmer. 

"Oh,  yes,"  answered  Tracy. 

"Hope  they  won't  come  this  way/'  continued  the 
farmer. 

"So  do  I,"  said  Tracy.    "Pretty  bad  men,  I  reckon." 

"Yes,"  rejoined  the  farmer,  "the  papers  say  their 
route  is  blazed  with  blood — they  shoot  everything  in 
sight." 

"Not  so  bad  as  that,"  answered  Tra^y.  "I  guess 
thfy  only  shoot  when  they  have  to." 

"Well,  anyway,  I  hope  they  won't  come  this  way. 
What  would  you  young  fellows  do  if  they  should  step 
out  of  the  timber  now?"  said  the  farmer. 

136 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  Igf 

"Why,  I'd  givf  Jiem  some  grub/'  said  Tracy,  smil- 
ing. 

"Well,  it  seems  to  me  that  two  husky  chaps  like  you, 
well  armed,  would  make  a  play  for  the  big  reward." 

"I  wouldn't  want  to  shoot  Tracy/'  said  the  out- 
law. 

"Why  not?"  asked  the  farmer. 

"Why,  ol4  stud,  that  would  be  suicide/'  laughed 
Tracy. 

"Suicide?  How  so?"  said  the  farmer,  looking  up 
astonished. 

"Because  I'm  Tracy,  old  man.  •  Now  get  out  that 
grub  and  be  quick  about  it." 

The  farmer's  jaw  fell.  He  began  to  offer  trembling 
apologies  for  his  indiscreet  >narks,  vowing  that  he 
meant  no  harm. 

"Oh,  that's  all  right,"  said  Tracy.  "We  forgive 
you.  Now  give  us  dinner  and  we'll  pay  you  for  it." 

Dinner  over,  the  bandits  arose  from  the  table  and 
walked  out  into  the  yard. 

"I  guess  we'll  have  to  trade  horses,"  said  Tracy. 
"Our  stock  is  pretty  well  fagged  out.  Get  us  two 
horses  and  we'll  leave  these  here.  We'll  leave  your 
horses  somewhere  along  th£  road  later  on  with  your 
same  written  ota  paper  aad  plotted  to  the 


138  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

Then,  Old  Stud,  you'll  be  two  Tiorses  and  saddles 
ahead  of  the  game." 

When  the  outlaws  had  proceeded  a  few  miles  they 
found  the  horses  to  be  pretty  poor  stock. 

"I'd  hate  to  have  a  posse  after  us  with  these  horses," 
said  Tracy. 

"I  was  thinking  about  that  myself,"  replied  Merrill. 
"I  don't  believe  we'll  make  the  river.jvith  the  old 
plugs." 

Just  then  a  man  came  into  view  driving  down  the 
road  in  a  buggy. 

"Our  luck's  with  us  again,"  said  Tracy.  "We'll  get 
that  buggy." 

"Hold  up  there!"  shouted  Tracy  as  the  man  was 
about  to  pass  them. 

"Who  are  you  to  stop  me?"  asked  the  man. 

"Oh,  nobody.  Just  a  couple  of  harmless  guys," 
answered  Tracy,  throwing  up  his  rifle. 

The  pwyi  in  the  btigg)  turned  pale  and  stopped  his 
team. 

"Don't  get  alarmed  afid  swallow  your  upper  set,  old 
man.  Nobody's  going  to  harm  you  if  you'll  mind 
your  manners.  Do  you  know  who  I  am  ?"  said  Tracy. 

"Well,  I  never  saw  you  before,  but  I  guess  you 
must  be  Tracy,"  replied  the  man. 

"Well,  you  haven't  got  another  guess  coming,"  xe> 


TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW.  139 

joined  Tracy.  "Now  you  just  jump  out.  We're  going 
to  take  your  rig  and  you  can  take  these  horses  back 
to  the  owner.  We've  got  to  make  the  Columbia  River, 
and  that,  too,  in  a  hur"T:  T  see  you've  got  a  pretty 
good  team  there." 

"Yes,*  said  the  man,  whose  name  was  Woods  and 
who  was  a  farmer  of  considerable  wealth ;  "it's  a  team 
that  cost  me  a  pile  of  money  and  one  which  I  value 
very  much.  Now,  I'm  a  reasonable  old  buck,  and  I 
believe  you  boys  are  reasonable,  too.  All  you  want  is 
to  get  to  the  river,  isn't  it?" 

"That's  all,"  replied  Tracy,  "unless  you've  got  some 
money.  Let's  see." 

"Yes,  I've  got  about  $100  and  a  watch.  Now,  take 
that  and  I'll  drive  you  both  to  the  river  if  you  will 
let  me  have  my  team  then." 

"All  right,  old  man,  you  seem  square  and  we  agree 
to  your  proposition,  although  $100  ain't  much  to  pay 
for  the  privilege  of  driving  two  such  distinguished 
citizens  to  the  river,"  replied  Tracy  jokingly.  "But,  I 
say,  you  are  a  nervy  old  duck,  and  the  first  one  on 
record  who  ever  tried  to  make  a  deal  with  Tracy  when 
he  had  the  drop.  I  like  nerve." 

"Well,  you  see,  boys,  I've  been  u^.  against  this  game 
before,  and  I  find  that  a  littl  ^  common  sense  goes 
far  to  establish  amicable  and  diplomatic  relations." 


I4O  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

"All  right,  old  man,  you  can  sit  between  us  and 
drive.  I  want  to  see  what  those  fine  horses  can  do. 
But  hold  on  a  minute." 

Here  Tracy  scribbled  on  a  scrap  of  paper  the  ad- 
dress of  the  farmer  from  whom  he  had  taken  the 
horses  and  stuck  it  in  the  saddle  girth  where  it  could  be 
seen.  * 

"Now  be  off,  old  man,  as  fast  as  you  can  turn"aT 
wheel,"  said  Tracy  as  the  three  jumped  into  the  buggy. 

The  shades  of  night  were  falling  just  as  the  river 
hove  in  sight. 

"Washington  at  last !"  sighed  Merrill. 

"Well,  I  hope  you  are  satisfied  now,"  grunted  Tracy, 
"but,  after  all,  I  don't  see  that  we'll  be  any  better  off 
over  there  than  anywhere  else." 

Stopping  the  rig  on  the  river  bank,  the  two  outlaws 
sprang  to  the  ground 

"Well,  good-by,  old  sport,  you've  done  us  a  good 
turn.  I  like  a  nervy  old  buck,  and  some  day  I'll  send 
you  back  your  hundred  and  more,  too.  Anyway, 
you've  saved  your  fine  horses,  and  that's  all  I  promised 
you  for  the  time  being,5'  sai^  T*^cy  as  the  old  farmer 
drove  off. 

"Now  we're  here,"  said  Merrill,  "but  how  are  we 
going  to  get  across  ?" 

'Isn't  that  a  boat?"  asked  Tracy,  pointing  up  stream 


TRACY,    THE   OUTLAW.  14? 

through  the  gathering  gloom.     "Sure  It  is,  and  we'll 
talcs  it." 

The  wind  had  risen^  and  was  blowing  a  gale  and 

ere  running  high  out  in  the  broad  stream, 

T  made  lor  the  boat,  but  found  it  securely 

h  padlock  and  chain. 

never  do,"  grumbled  Tracy.     "We  should 
ax  to  cut  this  pesky  thing  loose.     What  do 
w  about  sailing  a  boat,  Dave?" 
"Nothing/'  said  Merrill. 

"Well,  neither  do  I,"  said  Tracy.  "But  see,  there's 
a  cabin,  and  a  light  in  it,  too.  Somebody  there — maybe 
the  owner  of  the  boat.  Let's  go  see." 

Saying  this,  Tracy  and  his  partner  strode  a  little 
way  back  into  the  timber  which  lined  the  river  bank 
until  they  came  to  the  cabin. 

"Who's  in  there?"  yelled  Tracy,  pounding  the  door 
with  the  butt  of  his  gun.  "If  you  don't  open  the  door 
I'll  break  it  in !" 

^n  a  moment  the  door  was  opened  and  the  outlaws 
were  confronted  with  an  old  rancher  who  lived  all 
alone  in  the  cabin. 

Brushing  the  old  man  aside,  Tracy  and  Merrill  en- 
tered the  cabin  and  began  to  poke  around  with  thsir 
guns  to  see  if  anyone  else  was  concealed  there. 
"Who  owns  that  boat?"  asked  Tracy, 


142  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

"A  man  named  Sunderland,"  replied  the  rancher. 

"Can  you  handle  the  boat  ?"  asked  Tracy. 

"No,  in  deed — never  handled  one  in  my  life,"  replied 
the  rancher. 

"Well,  hurry  up  and  get  us  something  to  eat,  and 
then  you  can  take  us  to  where  the  owner  of  the  boat 
lives,"  ordered  Tracy. 

"I  guess  you're  the  boys  who  escaped  from  Salem," 
ventured  the  old  rancher. 

"You've  guessed  right  the  first  time,"  said  Tracy, 
laughing. 

"Well,  I  hope  you'll  get  away,"  said  the  rancher. 

"I  don't  know  whether  you  do  or  not,"  returned 
Tracy,'  "but  it's  ju§t  as  well  to  say  so,  eh,  old  fellow?" 

"Well,  I'll  do  the  best  Lean  to  help  you  on  your 
way.  That  ought  to  be  a  token  of  good  faith." 

"Yes,"  said  Tracy,  "there's  been  quite  a  number  try- 
ing to  help  us  on  our  way — to  hell,"  laughed  Tracy, 
"but  we're  much  in  evidence  yet." 

"Do  you  like  bacon?"  asked  the  old  man.  "I  haven't 
got  anything  more  to  offer  you,  except  some  bread  and 
onions." 

"That'll  do,"  answered  Tracy,  "only  hurry  it.  No, 
fust  let  me  do  the  cooking  while  you  go  out  with  my 
partner  and  take  a  look  around  outside  to  see  if  every- 
thing's all  right." 


TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW.  143 

Tracy  got  a  frying  pan  and  commenced  to  cook, 
while  Merrill  and  the  old  man  went  outside.  Pretty 
soon  they  returned,  reporting  everything  safe  out- 
side. 

"Have  any  of  those  fellows  who  are  hunting  us 
been  around  here  yet?"  asked  Tracy. 

"No,"  said  the  old  man,  "but  here  is  a  newspaper 
which  tells  where  they  are." 

Tracy  seized  the  paper  eagerly,  and  after  scanning 
it  rapidly  uttered  an  exclamation  of  surprise  not  un- 
mingled  with  amusement. 

"See  here,  Merrill.  They've  got  our  pictures  in  the 
paper,"  said  Tracy. 

Both  men  bent  over  the  paper  and  looked  intently 
at  the  pictures. 

"They're  not  bad/'  said  Merrill. 

"No,"  rejoined  the  other,  "pretty  enough  for  the 
society  column.  "But,  take  it  from  me,  it's  as  near 
as  they'll  ever  get  to  exploiting  Harry  Tracy  alive." 

After  finishing  their  meal  the  outlaws  proceeded  to 
shave  and  wash  up. 

"Now,  old  man,"  said  Tracy,  "we  just  got  a  little 
present  from  a  kind  old  gentleman  who  drove  us  here 
to  the  river,  and  we  are  going  to  take  all  of  your  best 
clothes  and  hats  and  all  you  have  to  eat;  but  here's 
money  enough  to  pay  you  well  for  it.  You've  been  a 


144  TRA<5Y,   THE  OUTLAW. 

pretty  decent  old  fellow,  and  we  donlt  want  to  harm 
you/' 

Tracy  handed  the  old  man  a  roll  of  bills,  -saying: 

"Now,  just  come  along  with  us  and  well  get  that 
fellow  who  knows  how  to  handle  the  boat,  and  mind, 
old  man,  when  we  leave  you,  say  nothing  about  our 
having  been  here." 

The  outlaws  then  went  to  "Sunderland's  cabin, 
brought  him  down  to  the  boat,  and  Tracy  said : 

"Now,  you  take  us  across  the  river  as  quickly  as 
you  can  and  we'll  pay  you  for  the  job  with  this  watch, 
but  if  you  attempt  to  get  funny  we'll  blow  your  block 
off  and  toss  you  in  the  river.  Do  you  understand  me  ? 
I'm  Tracy!" 

"I  do,"  said  the  boatman,  trembling  with  fright. 
"Just  get  in,  gentlemen,  and  I'll  take  you  safely 
across." 

When  only  a  little  way  out  in  the  stream  the  waves 
began  to  dash  violently  against  the  boat  and  washed 
over  it  in  volumes. 

At  times  it  looked  as  if  the  boat  would  founder,  and 
while  death  from  this  new  source  stared  them  in  the 
face  Tracy  sat  at  the  tiller  and  joked. 

Finally  they  landed  on  the  Washington  shore  and 
disappeared  in  the  brush. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

BLOODHOUNDS  ON  THE  TRAIL. 

/ 

After  the  crossing  of  the  Columbia  River  that  sec- 
tion of  the  country  began  to  feel  the  effects  of  the 
numerous  forays  of  the  outlaws.  Almost  daily  the 
homes  of  farmers  were  entered  in  broad  daylight  by 
the  outlaws,  who-  at  the  point  of  the  gun  required  the 
inmates  to  administer  to  their  wants0  They  ate  and 

C  v. 

drank  the  best  that  their  unwilling-  hosts  could  afford 
and  amused  themselves  chatting  and  joking  with  the 
women.  The  terror  that  their  names  inspired  seemed, 
to  afford  them  the  keenest  pleasure,  and  they  often 
took  the  most  foolish  risks  to  seek  this  sort  of  diver- 
sion. In  a  short  time  large  posses  were  formed,  and 
the  hunt,  which  had  been  abandoned  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river,  began  again,  and  the  chase  waxed  hot. 
Merrill  began  to  grow  uneasy  as  from  day  to  day 


146  TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW. 

they  were  put  to  their  best  wits  to  evade  the  hounds, 
which  had  again  been  brought  into  service. 

He'  was  persistent  in  his  endeavors  to  persuade  Tracy 
that  the  country  near  Vancouver  would  afford  .them 
better  protection,  as  he  was  well  acquainted  with  that 
section. 

"This  country  is  as  thick  with  hunters  as  the  country 
we  left,"  insisted  Merrill.  "Let  us  get  out  of  here  or 
I'll  go  alone  where  I  have  friends/' 

A  sinister  expression  clouded  the  countenance  of 
Tracy  at  this  remark. 

"See  here,  Dave,"  hissed  Tracy  between  his  clenched 
teeth,"  we  started  in  this  business  to  stick  together,  and 
any  disposition  on  the  part  of 'either'  of  us  to  change 
the  program  now  could  be  fairly  interpreted  as  treach- 
ery. Now,  you  stick  by  me.  You  can't  shake  me  now. 
We've  got  to  see  thk  business  through  and  work  to- 
gether on  the  square." 

Tracy  evidently  feared  that  Merrill  was  weakening 
and  contemplated  a  surrender,  with  the  hope  of  obtain- 
ing leniency  in  exchange  for  his  treachery  to  a  pal. 

Merrill  may  have  divined  Tracy's  suspicions,  but  he 
only  remained  sullen  and  did  not  attempt  to  answer. 

One  morning  they  took  two  horses  from  the  barn  of. 
a  farmer  and  made  off  along  the  country  road. 


&u  fe$ 

%" 


Page 


TRACY,    THE   OUTLAW. 

After  they  nad  gone  about  a  mile  they  met  a  man, 
with  his  wife,  walking. 

The  man  started  wheirhe  saw  the  horses,  and,  point- 
o  them,  said: 

orses  are  mine,   fellows.  ''•  Where  did 

"se  horses 
belong  to  Harry  Tracy  ar.cl  Drive  j.Ierrill." 

The  man  was  at  first  startled  upon  hearing  the  names 
of  the  fearsome  outlaws,  but,  being  a  stolid  sort  of 
fellow,  soon  recovered  his  composure  and  said : 

"Gentlemen,  those  are  the  only  horses  I've  got,  and 
I'm  a  poor  man.  I  depend  on  those  horses  to-  make 
bread  for  my  wife  and  children/' 

"Poor  man,"  replied  the  outlaw,  heaving  a  mock 
sigh,  "if  you  don't  get  your  horses  back  you'll  alliave 
to  eat  cake." 

•"Why  didn't  you  take  some  rich  fellow's  stock?" 
continued  the  man.  "I  have  to  work  these  hbrses  every 
'  day.  Don't  you  see  me  and  my  family  are  walking  to 
church  so  as  to  give  them  ,1  day  of  rest?" 

"I  guess  we  can  get  along  without  the  horses,  Dave," 
said  Tracy. 

Merrill  nodded  assent. 

"Here,  mister,-  take  your  horses,"  continued  Tracy, 
and  the  two  outlaws  dismounted  and  took  to  the  timber. 


TRACY,  THE   OUTLAW.  *49 

A  few  hours  later  Tracy  stopped  suddenly  and  lis- 
tened intently. 

"Dave,"  he  exclaimed,  "hear  that  baying?  The 
bloodhounds  are  on  our  trail." 

The  outlaws  wete  then  in  the  timber  within  sight 
of  a  road.  Walking  leisurely  out  of  the  timber,  they 
could  see  a  body  of  men  about  a  mile  down  the  road 
following  the  hounds. 

Rapidly  retracing  their  steps,  they  made  for  a  s.wamp 
which  they  had  seen  earlier  in  the  day  back  in  the 
timber. 

They  entered  the  swamp  and  waded  through,  it  for 
-over  a  mile.  Before  wading  ashore  they  took  their 
shoes  off. 

The  baying  of  the  hounds  had  died  away  in  the  dis- 
tance ;  they  had  lost  the  scent. 

A  few  days  after  this  escape  the  bandits  were  rest- 
ing in  a  deserted  cabin  not  far  from  the  road.  They 
had  just  finished  a  good  dinner,  which  the  larders  of 
neighboring  farmers  had  provided,  when  in  the  dis- 
tance they  saw  five  armed  men  riding  up  the  road  in 
their  direction. 

"They're  after  us,  Dave,  and  when  they  get  near 
enough  we'll  clean  out  the  bunch,"  remarked  Tracy. 

"Better  let  'em  go  by.  It'll  only  make.it  worse  for 
us,  for  if  they're  killed,  more  men  will  tak«  the  field 


I5O  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

and  it'll  be  that  much  harder  for  us  to  get  away,"  ven- 
tured Merrill. 

"There's  where  you're  wrong,  Dave.  There'll  be 
just  five  less  to  hunt  us  if  we  plug  'ern,"  growled 
Tracy. 

"Well,  let's  stop  *em  before  we  shoot.  Why  not  hold 
'em  up?"  persisted  Merrill. 

"Oh,  h— 1 !  What's  the  matter  with  yo^?  Cold  feet 
again?  We  don't  need  to  hold  'em  up— we've  got  all 
the  arms,  anmmunition  and  grub  we  want — and  even 
if  we  didn't,  can't  we  shoot  'em  down  first  and  hold  'em 
up  afterwards  just  as  easy?''  answered  Tracy. 

"I  think  I'd  leave  well  enough  alone,"  contended 
Merrill,  whose  counsel  finally  prevailed,  and  Tracy 
said: 

•'All  right  then,  Dave,  we'll  stop  'em." 

When  the  men  were  abreast  of  the  atpbushed  bandits 
the  peremptory  challenge  of  Tracy  ratig  out: 

"Halt!    I'm  Tracy!" 

At  the  word  of  command  the  men  jerked  their 
mounts  up  suddenly,  which  caused  them  to  rear  and 
turn  as  if  to  run  away,  when  Tracy  let  go  a  shot,  and 
the  leader  of  the  posse,  Sheriff  Blescher,  fell  from  his 
horse.  The  others  turned  .aid  iied,  leaving  the  wound- 
ed Sheriff  to  his  fate. 

"I  didn't  mean  to  make  that  shot,  Dave,"  said  Tracy. 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

"It  was  a  slip — from  force  of  habit,  I  suppose — but 
since  I  did  it  I'm  sorry  I  didn't  plug  the  other  four, 
because  now  we  won't  have  so  much  time  to  get  ahea<* 
of  the  hunters. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  DUEL. 

One  day  early  in  July  Tracy  and  Merrill  were  in  the 
woods  in  Lewis  county,  near  Cbehalis.  They  were 
both  ragged  and  showed  the  effects  of  having  been 
hard  run  by  the  many  large  bodies  of  men  who  were 
hot  on  their  trail. 

They  both  carried  rifles,  however,  and  were  well 
supplied  with  ammunition. 

"I  am  tired  of  this  thing  of  being  chased  about  like 
a  rabbit,"  said  Merrill,  "and  I  think  we  would  be  better 
off  if  we  separate  and  try  to  work  our  way  out  of  the 
country  singly/' 

"Well,  Merrill,  this  is  just  what  I've  been  expecting. 
The  fact  is  you  are  no  man.  You  haven't  the  nerve  of 
a  rabbit.  You  would  rather  sneak  through  the  coun- 
try, keeping  all  the  time  under  cover,  than  show  your- 
self to  get  grub.  That's  not  my  style.  No  man  can 
take  me  alone,  and  if  you  were  the  right  kind  of  a  pal 
a  rqjimeat  of  deputies  couldn't  *aks  1*6 ;  but  you  are  no 


TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW.  I  S3 

good,"  and  saying  this  Tracy  clutched  his  rifle  lightly, 
continuing  : 

"If  we  stick  together  we  are  sure  to  get  away  in 
time;  but  I  tell  you  that  I  wouldn't  be  afraid  to  tackle 
the  whole  State  of  Washington  alone  " 

"Then  you  can  do  it  alone/'  growled  Merrill,  "for 
I'm  going  to  give  it  up." 

"I  know  what  you're  driving  at,"  roared  Tracy. 
"You  want  to  give  yourself  up  and  make  a  deal  with 
the  authorities!" 

"That's  not  so !"  shouted  Merrill.  "I'm  as  game  as 
you  are,  but  this  is  an  ugly  fix  we  are  in,  and  you  got 
me  into  it." 

"Well,  I  like  that,5  sneered  Tracy.  "That's  the 
kind  of  bark  a  d— d  our  puts  up  after  he  has  been 
rescued  from  the  dogcatchers.  Who  got  you  out  of 
the  pen,  if  I  didn't  do  it?  You  wouldn't  have  sense 
or  nerve  enough  to  break  out  of  a  glass  cage  with  a 
sledge-hammer.  You'd  want  some  nervy  man  to  lift 
you  out  with  a  pair  of  tongs  and  set  you  down  in  a 
tub  of  butter." 

"I'll  admit  you  got  me  out  of  the  pen,  but  I  wish 
you'd  never  done  it,"  rejoined  Merrill. 

"Well,  you're  not  there  now,"  said  Tracy,  fingering 
the  trigger  of  his  rifle,  "and  if  you  don't  stick  to  me 
I'll-- " 


154  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

"Plug  roe,  I  reckon/'  interrupted  Merrill. 

"That's  just  what  I'll  do,  and  I  tell  you  right  now, 
Merrill,  I  see  that  you  have  treachery  in  your  eye.  We 
have  come  to  the  parting  of  the  ways." 

"We  had  better  divide  up/'  answered  Merrill. 

"Yes,  we'll  divide  up,  but  one  of  us  will  remain 
here/'  said  Tracy  calmly.  "I  am  now  convinced  that 
either  yon  will  kill  me  some  time  or  I'll  have  to  kill 
you,  and  we'd  better  settle  it  right  here." 

"Merrill's  face  took  on  an  ashen  pallor.  Tracy  was 
as  cool  and  unconcerned  as  though  he  were  about  to 
carve  a  Christmas  turkey. 

"Tracy,  let  us  split  and  each  go  our  way.  You  know 
I'd  have  no  chance  with  you  in  a  fight,"  groaned  Mer- 
rill. 

"I'll  give  you  all  the  show  you  want,"  said  Tracy. 
"Just  come  out  in  the  open  space  and  we'll  stand 
back  to  back.  "I'll  count  off  ten  steps  and  then  well 
turn  and  shoot." 

"I  don't  want  to  do  that,  Tracy,"  argued  Merrill. 

"Well,  if  you  don't  want  to  fight  I'll  make  you," 
yelled  Tracy,  stepping  back  and  covering  Merrill  with 
his  deadly  rifle. 

"Don't  shoot !    I  agree !"  cried  Merrill. 

The  men  stepped  out  into  a  small  space  sparsely 
covered  with  timber.  T4*e  early  morning  sun  was  fil- 


XRAG¥,  THE  OUTLAW.  155 

tering  through  the  leaves  and  the  forest  echoed  with 
the  clear  notes  of  the  songbirds  as  the -men  stood  back 
to  back. 

Tracy  began  to  count  as  he  strode  off.  "One,  two, 
three,  four/'  he  counted.  "Six,  seven,  eight" — bang  ! 

Tracy,  suspecting  treachery  on  the  part  of  Merrill, 
turned  suddenly  at  the  eighth  step  and  shot  from  his 
hip. 

Merrill  shrieked,  threw  up  his  hands  and  fell  upon 
his  back — dead. 

"Well,"  muttered  Tracy  to  himself,  "he  intended  to 
kill  me  some  time  or  other — perhaps  while  I  slept.  I've 
felt  it  for  a  long  time.  He  weakened.  He's  a  coward. 
I've  no  use  for  that  sort  of  cattle/' 

Then  the  lone  outlaw  walked  over  to  the  bleeding 
corpse,  and,  lifting  it  in  his  arms,  carried  it  to  where 
two  logs  were  lying  close  together  and  placed  it  be- 
tween them  and  covered  it  up  with  brush  and  leaves. 

Then  Tracy  stalked  out  of  the  clearing  and  vanished 
in  the  xknse  timber  surrounding. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

TRACY  CAPTURES  A  LAUNCH  ON  PUGET  SOUND  AND 
ESCAPES. 

After  leaving  the  scene  of  the  fatal  duel  Tracy  com- 
mitted a  series  of  robberies,  blazing  his  way  to  Puget 
Sound  in  blood,  From  the  farmers  cti  the  line  of  his 
route  he  took  food,  clothing,  money  and  horses,  chang- 
ing his  horses  for  fresh  ones  when  they  became  worn 
out.  N 

After  leaving  a  house  that  he  had  robbed  he  would 
bind  and  gag  the  inmates,  and  in  some  instances  leave 
a  note,  pinned  to  a  tree  or  fence,  directing  the  finder 
to  call  and  release  his  victims.  His  object  in  binding 
them  was  to  prevent  an  alarm  until  he  had  gotten  a 
good  start  on  his  pursuers. 

On  one  occasion  he  promised  a  young  lady  that  he 
would  return  a  horse  he  had  taken  from  her  father's 
barn  and  gave  the  young  lady  a  $10  bill,  telling  her  to 
give  it  to  the  person  who  would  return  the  horse. 
When  he  no  longer  needed  the  horse  he  hitched  him 
to  a  fence  and  pinned  a  note  on  the  saddle,  stating  to 

156 


a  H 

Q    | 

w  I 


Page 


J5&  TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW, 

whom  the  horse  belonged  and  that  the  owner  would 
pay  $10  for  his  return.  The  horse  was  returned  by  a 
boy,  who  received  the  reward. 

Notwithstanding  the  desperate  character  of  the 
man,  there  were  eviderfces  of  many  acts  tending  to 
show  that  he  was  not  wholly  abandoned  and  that 
many  of  his  crimes  were  committed  to  save  him- 
self from  capture  and  death. 

One  day,  early  in  July,  Tracy  arrived  at  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Capital  City  Oyster  Co.,  on  South 
Bay,  Puget  Sound. 

A  big  gasoline  launch,  belonging  to  Capt.  A.  J. 
Clark  and  his  son,  was  at  the  dock.  Captain  Clark  was 
standing  near  a  tei&t,  where  two  men  were  preparing  a 
meal  for  the  company's  hands,  who  had  just  turned  out 
for  the  day's  work  and  were  also  standing  around. 

Tracy  approached  the  tent  unnoticed,  and  the  first 
the  men  knew  of  his  presence  was  when  his  terrible 
voice  rang  out : 

"I'm  Tracy..  ,Be  good,  boys,  now,  all  of  you,  and 
line  up." 

This  command  was  promptly  obeyed  and  Tracy 
.proceeded  leisurely  to  go  through  the  crowd. 

"Is  breakfast  ready  yet?"  then  inquired  Tracy  of 
the  cooks. 

"Not  yet,"  answered  one. 


TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW.  159 

"Weil,  hurry  it  up,"  said  Tracy.  "These  men  ail 
look  hungry." 

Tracy  then  called  to  the  men,  who  were  all  stand- 
ing in  line,  with  their  hands  up : 

"Here,  fellows,  you  can  put  your  hands  down,  as 
none  of  you  is  armed,  iand  all  sit  down  now  at  the 
table,  but  don't  any  of  you  come  too  near  the  upper 
end,  for  that's  where  I'm  going  to  sit,  for  I  can  see 
out  well  from  there  and  so  that  nobody  can.  come 
along  and  hold  us  up." 

The  men  all  seated  themselves  as  Tracy  directed, 
and  he  said : 

"Eat  hearty,  fellows.  You  won^t  have  another 
chance  like  this  for  some  time,  as  I'm  going  to  take 
you  all  on  an  excursion  with  me  on  the  Sound/' 

Tracy  kept  his  rifle  across  his  knee  all  the  time  he 
was  eating. 

When  breakfast  was  over  he  told  Captain  Clark 
and  his  son  that  he  wanted  them  to  accompany  him 
in  the  launch  for  a  trip  out  on  Puget  Sound. 

Captain  Clark  told  Tracy  that  it  would  require 
four  men  to  operate  the  launch. 

"Take  as  many  men  as  you  like,  Captain;  the 
more  the  merrier,"  said, Tracy. 

Marching  all  the  men  in  front  of  him,  the  launch 
boarded  and  Tracy  took  his  seat  "in  the  ,sternt 


l6o  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

with  his  murderous  rifle  thrown  carelessly  across 
his  knees. 

"Now,  Captain,  head  her  for  Tacoma,  and  mind 
you  commit  no  follies.  I  don't  want  to  hurt  any  of 
you,  but  so  sure  as  I  *see  any  signs  of  treachery  I'll 
clean  out  the  whole  crew  of  you  and  scuttle  the 
launch,"  and  saying  this  Tracy  fingered  suggestively 
the  trigger  of  his  rifle. 

"All.  right,  my  boy,"  replied  the  Captain,  with 
great  presence  of  mind,  although  his  nerves  were 
vibrating  like  a  tuning  fork.  "I'll  see  that  you  are 
landed  safely  wherever,  you  want  to  go." 

After  they  had  been  out  a  while  on  the  Sound 
Tracy's  suspicions  seemed  to  have  been  allayed  t^y 
the  manner  of  the  crew,  which,  paying  little  heed 
to  him,  attended  strictly  to  the  navigation  of  the 
launch.  At  times  he  would  leave  his  seat  in  the 
stern  and  help  the  men  with  little  jobs  connected 
with  theif  work.  No  doubt  at  these  moments  sud- 
den and  concerted  action  on  tjie  part  of  the  crew 
could  have  effected  his  capture,  but  ever  vigilant  and 
wary,  Tracy  watchedUiem  closely  and  gave  them 
no  opportunity  to  concoct  any  definite  plan  of  action. 
Moreover,  the  crew  were  thoroughly  frightened  and 
consequently  tractable  and  docile. 

For  the  greater  part  of  the  trip  Tracy  was  very 


TRACY,  THE  OVttAW.  I** 

loquacious  and  related  with  apparent  gusto  many  of 
his  marvelous  exploits,  all  of  which  did  not  add 
much  to  the  comfort  of  the  men,  who  did  not  know 
at  what  instant  the  outlaw  might  interpret  some 
trifling  movement  or  glance  of  theirs  as  significant 
of  treachery  and  open  fire  with  his  deadly  weapon. 

Several  times  the  outlaw  took  a  shot  at  seals,  dis- 
playing such  marksmanship  that  the  men  on  the 
launch  became  more  and  more  impressed  with  the 
blood-curdling  adventures  which  he  related  to  them. 

"No  number  of  men  can  get  me  if  I  see  'em  first/' 
said  Tracy,  "but  I  don't  care  to  kill  anyone  unless 
it  is  one  of  the  guys  that  is  hunting  me  or  some 
prison  officer.'' 

Just  then  they  were  passing  the  Washington 
State  Prison,  on  McNeil's  Island,  and  Tracy  spied 
some  guards  patrolling  the  prison  wall. 

"I  think  I'll  take  a  shot  at  one  of  those  guards," 
said  Tracy,  throwing  up  his  gun. 

"Hold  on  a  minute,  Tracy;  I  wouldn't  do  that  if 
r  were  you,"  cried  the 'Captain.  "They  are  out  of 
range  and  it  will  only  serve  to  draw  the  attention 
of  the  officials  to  us.  They've  got  rapid-fire  guns, 
too,  stationed  on  the  walls,  and  if  you  want  to 
get  away  better  let  them  alone." 

"I  guess  you're  right,  Captain,"  said  the  outlaw. 


162  TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW. 

''Have  any  of  you  fellows  got  any  si 
had  two,  but  my  ammunition  ran  out  and  I  threw 
them  away  the  last  time  the  hounds  had  me  hard- 
pressed.  I've  only  got  my  rifle  now  and  200  car- 
tridges." 

Upon  being  informed  that  there  were  no  arms 
among  the  crew,  he  said : 

"Well,    never    mind,    I    guess    we'll    change   the  * 
program  and  go  on  to  Seattle.    When  I  get  ashore 
I'll   meet   some   policemen   or   sheriffs    and    get    all 
the  revolvers  and  ammunition  I  need." 

The  Captain  changed  the  course  of  the  launch, 
and  Tracy  made  him  lower  the  speed,  sayhig  that 
he  did  not  want  to  land  until  nightfall. 

When  it  began  to  grow  dark  the  outlaw  had  the 
launch  headed  for  the  shore  about  two  miles  northr 
of  Seattle  and  made  a  landing  on  the  beach. 

Before  leaving  the  launch  he  ordered  one  of  th* 
crew,  a  man  named  Scott,  to  bind  the  others.  They 
were  all  tied,  except  young  Scott,  with  their  hands 
behind  their  backs  and  the  ropes  then  made  fast 
to  their  feet. 

Tracy  had  been  joking  with  young  Scott  all  along 
the  trip  about  his  red  head,  and  asking  him  how 
he  would  like  to  join  him  and  be  his  pal.  The 
boy  was  good-natured  and  witty,  which  seemed  to 

I 


TRACY,  THE  OU1LAW.  163 

win  the  outlaw's  good  will,  and  when  he  noticed 
that  young  Scott  had  a  sore  wrist  he  had  him  bound 
by  the  elbows. 

When  Tracy  landed  he  made  Scott  go  with  him, 
but  pretty  soon  sent  him  back  again,  saying: 

"There's  no  us  for  me  to  take  you,  anyway,  I 
wouki  if  I  thought  you'd  make  the  right  kind  of  a 
partner,  but  I  guess  you  ain't  built  that  way.  I'll 
have  a  lot  of  dough  pretty  soon  and  you  can  tell 
the  Captain  and  the  others  that  I  wdn't  forget  them. 
You've  all  been  pretty  decent  fellows.  Well,  so 
long." 

The  news  that  Tracy  had  struck  Seattle  spread 
like  wildfire,  and  in  a  few  hours  Deputy  Sheriff 
Williams  collected  a  posse  of  deputies  and  citizens 
and  started  in  pursuit  of  the  audacious  bandit. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

TRACY  DEFEATS  THE  SHERIFF'S  POSSE  AT  BOTHKL, 

The  next  afternoon  the  po&se,  while  hunting  the 
outlaw,  met  another  posse,  led  by  Deputy  Sheriff 
Brewer.  They  joined  forces  and  proceeded  towards 
Bothel,  where  Tracy  was  reported  to  have  been 
seen  after  holding  up  several  policemen  and  taking 
their  arms  from  them.  Near  Bothel  there  is  a 
gulch  which  would  afford  a  good  place  of  conceal- 
ment for  a  fugitive,  and  the  posses  concluded  to 
search  it.  In  doing  so  they  came  upon  a  path  in 
which  there  were  fresh  footprints,  leading  down  a 
short  distance  to  a  cabin.  There  was  a  heavy  rain 
falling,  and  the  hunters,  soaked  to  the  skin  them- 
selves, concluded  that  the  bandit  had  taken  refuge 
in  the  cabin.  "He  is  no  doubt  in  there/'  said  one 
of  the  deputies.  Now's  our  chance  to  surround  the 
oabin  and  make  the  capture." 

Hardly  had  the  words  fallen  from  his  lips  when  the 
crack  of  Tracy's  dread  rifle  rang  out  from  a  log  about 
50  feet  away,  and  one  of  the  deputies,  Charles  Ray- 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW.  165 

mond,  tumbled  over,  stone  dead.  Nothing  was  seen 
'"•of  Tracy  but  his  head  and  a  little  of  one  shoulder 
peeping  over  the  top  of  the  log.  One  of  the  deputies 
answered  Tracy's  fire,  but  the  next  shot  from  the  out- 
law's ambush  put  him  out  of  commission,  badly 
wounded. 

Meanwhile  Deputy  Williams  and  several  others  es- 
caped into  the  brush  and  circled  around,  intending  to 
attack  the  outlaw  from  behind,  but  just  as  they  ap- 
peared in  his  rear  the  wily  bandit,  who  had  been  ex- 
pecting such  tactics,  opened  up  a  rapid  and  deadly 
fire,  killing  Williams  and  wounding  two  of  the  others. 
Williams  was  struck  three  times  just  under  the  heart, 
again  demonstrating  the  marvelous  accuracy  of  the 
outlaw's  aim. 

The  remaining  members  :of  the  posse  then  sought 
the  shelter  of  trees,  from  which  they  poured  in  the 
direction  of  Tracy's  smoke  at  least  100  shots. 

The  terrible  fatalities  experienced  by  the  hunters 
soon  chilled  their  ardor.  They  quickly  realized  thats 
they  were  confronted  with  no  ordinary  foe,  and  their 
courage  ef  the  morning,  which,  sustained  by  the  con- 
sciousness of  numerical  strength,  had  been  inflated 
to  the  proportions  of  a  mammoth  gas  tank,  rapidly 
shrank  and  shriveled  up,  like  the  collapse  of  a  toy 
balloon  when  pricked  with  a  pin. 


l66  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

"That  tellow  shoots  like  a  regiment  of  regulars/' 
groaned  one  of  the  wounded  men. 

The  battle  did  not  last  over  five  minutes,  and  when 
there  ceased  to  be  any  further  shooting  from  the  log 
behind  which  Tracy  had  been  concealed  the  remain- 
ing members  of  the  posse  ceased  firing,  concluding 
that  the  outlaw  had,  with  his  usual  temerity,  walked 
off  into  the  timber  under  'their  fire.  This  was  pre- 
cisely what  Tracy  had  done,  and  he  reached  the  cover 
of  the  woods  unscathed. 

The  news  of  the  battle  caused  the  intensest  excite- 
ment and  spread  consternation  everywhere  in  that  part 
of  the  state.  No  one  felt  safe,  fot:  no  one  knew  where 
Tracy  and  his  vicious  Winchester  would  turn  up  next. 

He  did  turn  up  in  a  very  short  time  on  the  road  to 
Bothel  after  he  left  the  log.  Here  he  met  a  man  riding 
on  horseback  northward  towards  his  home. 

"I  must  have  that  horse/'  said  the  bandit.  "I'm  a 
deputy  on  the  track  of  Tracy  and  am  in  a  desperate 
hurry." 

Mounting  the.  horse,  he  rode  to  the  farm  of  a 
man  named  Johnson  and  compelled  him  to  hitch  up  a 
team  and  drive  him  towards  Freemont. 

On  the  way  they  passed  a  number  of  deputies  with- 
out attracting  any  attention. 


TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW.  167 

"I  guess  we'll  go  to  Seattle/'  said  Tracy.  Til  be 
safer  there." 

Arriving  at  Seattle,  Tracy  let  Johnson  go  and  walked 
through  town,  stopping  at  the  house  of  a  lady  on  the 
outskirts,  which  was  an  ideal  place  for  Tracy,  as  it 
stood  alon£,  and  just  back  of  it  was  a  dense  woods. 

Meanwhile  Sheriff  Cudihee,  with  another  posse,  was 
on  the  track  of  the  bandit. 

As  the  posse  rode  along  they  met  two  policemen, 
Breeze  and^Rawley,  who  told  them  that  Tracy  was  at 
the  home  of  Mrs.  Van  Horn. 

Tracy  required  Mrs.  Van  Horn  ta  prepare  him 
supper,  which  he  partook  of  voraciously,  paying  for 
it  liberally,  and  all  through  his  visit  treating  the  wom- 
an with  marked  courtesy.  .-^ 

He  talked  a  great  deal  and  complained  of  the  loss 
of  rest,  and  thanked  Mrs.  Van  Horn  effusively  when 
she  called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  he  was  sitting 
with  his  back  to  a  window  with  the  curtain  raised. 

"Anybody  would  recognize  you  from  your, picture/1 
said  Mrs.  Van  Horn. 

"That's  so,"  answered  Tracy,  "and  thank  you  very 
much  for  calling  my  attention  to  it.  Won't  you  please 
null  down  the  curtain  ?" 

.Mrs.  Van  Horn  complied,  and  just  then  two  men 
who  worked  about  the  place  came  into  the  house. 


l68  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

Tracy  ordered  the  men  to  stand  up  against  the  vvali 
while  he  went  to  the  door  to  reconnoiter.  Meanwhile 
Sheriff  Cudihee  and  his  men  had  come  up  and  Tracy 
watched  him  conceal  himself  about  150  yards  on  a 
line  from  the  front  door, 

Tracy,  seeing  that  he  was  trapped,  made  the  two  la- 
borers place  themselves  in  front  of  him  abreast,  thus 
forming  a  human  shield,  and  walked  deliberately  out  of 
the  house.  As  soon  as  the  outlaw  appeared  in  the  open 
the  two  policemen,  Breez  and  Rawley,  with  a  folly 
born  of  ignorance,  dashed  out  of  the  woods,  crying: 

"Surrender!    Surrender,  Tracy!" 

Two  sharp  reports  of  the  dread  Winchester  was  the 
outlaw's  answer,  and  in  the  same  instant  two  dead 
policemen  lay  upon  the  ggeund,  with  bullets  in  their 
brains.  , 

This  sudden  revelation  of  the  bandit's  extraordinary 
prowess  struck  with  consternation  the  other  members 
of  the  posse.  The  Sheriff,  totally  disconcerted,  fired 
a  shot  from  his  place  of  hiding,  but  which  went  wild, 
and  before  the  party  could  recover  from  their  fright 
Tracy  had  reached  the  timber  and  disappeared. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

BLOODHOUNDS  BAFFLED  BY  TRACY. 

The  report  of  ths  battle- brought  the  excitement 
throughput  the  country  up  to  fever  heat. 

More  and  larger  posses  were  organized.  Two  com- 
panies of  militia  were  put  into  the  field  and  stretched 
across  a  broad  expanse  of  country,  forming  a  line 
which  was  thought  to  be  impassable. 

The  hounds  were  again  put  on  the  outlaw's  trail, 
but  Tracy's  resourcefulness  again  stood  him  in  hand. 

When  it  seemed  that  the  hounds  were  close  upon 
him,  Tracy  plunged  into  a  farmhouse  in  his  line  of 
flight  and  secured  a  catf  of  red  pepper,  which  he 
sprinkled  along1  in  his  tracks  until  he  reached  the  tim- 
ber, into  which  he  disappeared. 

When  the  hounds  struck  the  pepper  thay  sniffed 
and  coughed,  lost  the  trail  and  could  not  be  made  to 
work  again. 

That  evening  the  bandit  appeared  again  on  the  pub* 
lie  road.  He  met  two  straggling  deputies,  made  them 
dismount*  teak  tfc*">  arms  and  everytfaicg  fclae 

169 


170  TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW. 

had  and  rode  off,  leading  one  horse,  which  a  little  later 
on  he  abandoned. 

Tracy  had  now  come  within  sight  of  the'  military 
barricade.  Heading  his  horse  into  the  woods,  he  wait- 
ed until  dark.  Under  cover  of  night  he  led  his  horse 
to  within  a  short  distance  of  the  ^lards,  and,  giving 
the  animal  some  sharp  blows,  drove  him  into  the 
direction  of  the  line,  which  the  horse  crossed  at  a  full 
gallop. 

Suspecting  that  the  outlaw  was  the  rider,  as  no 
attention  was  paid  to  the  guards'  command  to  halt, 
they  fired  upon  the  horse,  which  fell,  and  when  they 
rushed  to  make  what  they  thought  would  be  an  easy 
capture,  Tracy  quietly  walked  through  the  gap  in  the 
line  and  disappeared  in  the  darkness. 

That  night  Tracy  slept  in  the  brush  and  next  morn- 
ing appeared  again  in  the  public  road. 

Just  as  he  emerged  from  the  timber  two  deputies 
approached  on  horseback. 

"Throw  up  your  hands !  I'm  Tracy/'  roared  the 
bandit  in  tones  which  froze  the  blood  in  the  veins  of 
the  two  head  hunters,  who  were  not  slow  to  obey. 

In  a  few  minutes  Tracy  had  them  stripped  and  tied 
to  trees  alongside  the  road.  Then,  exchanging  his 
clothing  for  the  best  of  their 's,  he  rode  off  with 
the  horses,  saying  as  he  left; 


TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW.  Ijl 

"I'll  be  back  this  way  shortly,  gentlemen,  and  if 
you'll  only  stay  where  you  are  you'll  have  a  chance 
to  get  that  reward." 

A  few  hours  later  Tracy  appeared  at  the  farmhouse 
of  John  Johnson.  The  family  were  seated  at  dinner 
when  the  outlaw  walked  in. 

"I'm  Tracy.  Don't  move.  I'm  not  going  to  hurt 
any  of  you.  Just  fix  me  a  plate  down  at  that  end  of 
.the  table.  I'm  as  hungry  as  a  bear/' 

Johnson  and  his  children  .  sat  motionless,  almost 
frightened  out  of  their  wits,  but  Mrs.  Johason  did  not 
seem  to  be  much  disturbed.  She  fixed  a  plate  for  the 
bandit^  and  helped  him  liberally. 

All  the  while  Tracy  was  very  agreeable,  and  after 
dinner  he  made  one  of  the  boys  shave  him.  Then  he 
washed  his  face  and  hands,  paid  Mrs.  Johnson  for 
his  dinner  and  left,  taking  with  him  a  big  Swede,  name 
Andersooi,  who  worked  for  the  Johnsons. 

For  several  days  Tracy  kept  Anderson  with  him, 
*ying  him  to  trees  at  night  while  he  slept  and  using  him 
to  do  the  cooking  and  other  work. 

Why  Tracy  impressed  Anderson  into  his  service  is  a 
matter  of  conjecture  only.  It  may  have  been  a  pass- 
ing whim  or  he  may  have  had  some  ulterior  motive, 
suggested  by  his  fertile  imagination,  looking;  to  some 
brilliant  coup  in  his  plan  of  campaign. 


TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

After  visiting  scores  of  farmers  and  holding  up 
posse  after  posse  in  company  with  the  Swede,  he  took 
a  notion  one  day  to  restore  the  man  his  liberty,  which 
he  did,  while  he  struck  out  again  alone. 

By  this  time  the  whole  country  was  alive  with  mili- 
tary, sheriffs*  posses  and  independent  troops  of  head 
'hunters.  Posses  were  sailing  over  the  Sound  in 
launches.  All  were  looking  for  Tracy,  and  promptly 
getting  held  up  or  killed  when  they  met  him. 

The  chase  was  beginning  to  assume  all  the  comic 
features  of  an  opera  bouffe. 

.  As  the  forces  in  the  field  after  the  outlaw  grew 
larger  day  by  day,  it  seemed  that  his  devilish  ingenuity 
gained  in  subtlety  until  it  bordered  on  to  the  black 
art. 

He  was  in  splendid  physical  condition  and  had  all 
the  arms,  ammunition  and  money  that  he  could  carry. 

Once,  when  he  needed  better  revolvers  than  those 
he  had,  he  compelled  a  farmer  to  ride  into  Seattle 
and  purchase  two  improved  styles  for  him,  telling  the 
man  that  if  he  betrayed  him  and  did  not  return  at  a 
certain  time  that  he  would  kill  his  wife  and  children, 
although  when  the  farmer  left  to  execute  the  com- 
mission the  outlaw  said  to  his  wife: 

"Don't  be  afraid.  I  would  not  harm  you  even  if 
your  husband  should  give  me  away.  I  never  harm 


TRACY,  Tl.e  OUT!  \W.  I/J 

women  and  children — only  men  who  are  seeking  my 
life." 

Tracy  treated  the  farmer's  wife  with  marked  gal- 
lantry in  his  absence  and  amused  the  children  telling 
them  of  his  boyhood  days  in  the  Ozarks. 

When  the  farmer  returned  with  the  arms  Tracy 
paid  him  and,  bidding  them  a  cheerful  "Goad-by," 
took  his  departure. 

Next  day  Tracy  entered  the  home  of  a  man  named 
Jerrold  and  asked  to  be  given  some  lunch.  The  owner 
of  the  house  was  absent,  but  his  wife,  son  and  two 
ladies,  friends  of  the  family,  were  there. 

One  of  the  ladies,  Miss  Barker,  recognized  Tracy 
immediately. 

"You  are  Tracy,"  she  said. 

"Yes,"  answered  Tracy,  smiling.  "How  did  you 
know?" 

"Oh,  everybody  has  seen  your  picture.  It  has  been 
published  broadcast,"  she  replied. 

"Yes,  but  I've  let  by  moustache  and  hair  grow  since 
that  picture  was  taken." 

"I  see  you  have,"  continued  Miss  Barker,  "but  the 
change  is  not  noticeable." 

When  lunch  was  served  Tracy  insisted  that  tfie 
ladies  diould  sit  down  and  partake  of  it  with  him. 


174  TRACY,   THE  OUTLAW. 

All  during  the  meal  he  showed  marked,  though  defer- 
ential, attention  to  the  ladies. 

"I'm  sorry  for  you/'  said  Miss  Barker;  "so  young 
and  clever  a  man  to  be  in  such  a  scrape.  Why  are  you 
so  bad?" 

"Because  I'm  convinced  that  down  in  their  secret 
hearts  the  ladies  all  like  the  real  bad  man — that  is,  if 
he's  bold.  The  good,  pious,  lamblike  type  of  man  has 
very  poor  chance  alongside  the  bold,  bad  fellow,  in 
a  game  of  hearts,  where  the  ladies  are  concerned/' 
Saying  this,  Tracy  laughed  heartily. 

"Well,  anyway,  I  hope  you  won't  be  caught,"  sighed 
Miss  Barker. 

"And  if  I  am/'  said  Tracy,  "it  will  be  when  I'm  dead. 
No  man  nor  set  of  men  can  capture  me  alive.  So 
you  see,  Miss,  the  ladies  won't  have  a  chance  to  send 

me  any  bouquets." 

0 

"You  know,  Mr.  Tracy,  I  live  in  town,  and  it's  quite 
a  way  from  here.  I  don't  suppose  you  will  object  if 
my  friend  and  I  start  now  for  home  ?" 

"Not  at  all/'  answered  the  bandit  gallantly.  "I 
wouldn't  mind  driving  you  in  myself.  Where's  your 
rig?" 

"Lands  sakes !    We've  no  rig;  we're  going  to  walk/* 
Miss  Barker,  seeming  amused. 


TRACY.  THE  ©UTfeAW.  175 

"Not  at  all.  Walk?  Why,  certainly  not.  Just  wait 
here  a  while.  I'll  go  borrow  a  buggy  and  drive  you 
home,"  said  Tracy,  starting  for  the  door. 

"Oh,  no,  no,  no !"  cried  all  the  ladies  in  unison. 
"We'd  be  killed !" 

"Yes,  that's  so,"  answered  Tracy,  reflectively ;  "those 
guys  don't  care  anything  for  women,  and,  even  if  they 
did,  they  get  so  scared  when  I'm  around  that  they 
might  hit  you.  They're  all  the  time  shooting  one  an- 
other when  they're  fighting  me  from  cover." 

Tracy  had  scarcely  finished  his  speech  when  a  ma.n 
came  swinging  up  the  walk. 

"A  deputy !"  hissed  Tracy.  "Tell  him  I'm  not  here," 
and  Tracy  jumped  behind  the  door,  while  Miss  Barker 
stood  upon  the  sill. 

"Have  you  seen  anything  of  a  strange  man  around 
here,  well  armed  and  answering  this  description?" 
asked  the  man,  showing  Miss  Barker  a  picture. 

"No,  sir ;  I  have  not,"  sdid  the  young  lady. 

"Well,  he  has  been  seen  in  this  vicinity.  It's  Tracy." 
And  the  man  turned  and  walked  away  and  joined,  over 
a  hundred  others  who  were  riding  along  the  road. 

As  soon  as  they  were  out  of  sight  Tracy  came  from 
his  place  of  concealment,  and  shaking  hands  with 
everybody,  took  his  departure,  saying : 


TRASV,   THE  OUTLAW, 

"G«>©d-by,  ladies ;  you  have  made  me  very  happy.  I 
will  remember  you  for  it  if  I  live.  You  remind  me  of 
the  people  in  the  Ozarks." 

Miss  Barker  thought  she  detected  a  faint  trace  of 
sadness  in  the  parting  words  of  the  fearsome  outlaw. 


CHAPTER  XXIL 

OUT   OF   THE   TOILS   AGAIN. 

One  quiet  evening  in  the  latter  part  of  July.  1902, 
Tracy  was  strolling  leisurely  through  a  strip  of  timber 
just  skirting  the  road,  when  the  baying  of  bloodhounds 
broke  upon  his  ears. 

"Those  cursed  dogs  again/'  muttered  the  bandit, 
making  a  dash  for  the  road.  Just  as  he  emerged  from 
the  woods  he  encountered  a  deputy  sheriff.  The 
deputy  saw  Tracy  first,  and  recognizing  him,  threw 
his  rifle  to  his  shoulder,  but  too  late,  for  Tracy  had 
fired  from  his  hip,  and  the  deputy  dropped  from  hi* 
horse,  mortally  wounded.  The  outlaw  leaped  into  the 
empty  saddle  and  in  a  few  moments  -the  beating  of 
the  horss's  boo  fa  had  died  out  down  the  road, 

Tracy  had  escaped  again,  although  over  three  h?in- 
dred  men  had,  unknown  to  the  bandit,  been  'scouring 
the  neighborhood  for  him  for  several  hours  when  h« 
heard  the  baying  of  the  hounds. 

The  report -of  Tracy's  rifte  drew  <&a  f*U  ferae  to 
the  spot  where  tfce  dead  dejxtfy 


178  TRASY,   THE  OUTLAW, 

Again  the  bloodhounds  took  up  the  trail,  and  the 

jto 

charge  continued,  with  the  full  fcfrce  of  hunters  in 
hot  pursuit. 

Again  Tracy's  ingenuity  and  quick  wit  was  brought 
into  play,  just  as  the  dogs  were  at  his  heels.  Urging 
his  horse  on  at  full  speed,  he  made  x  for  an  area  of 
marshy  ground,  covered  with  a  dense  undergrowth. 
Into  this  he  plunged  the  horse,  and  then  leaping  from 
his  saddle,  continued  his  flight  on  foot  until  he  struck 
a  little  stream,  in  which  he  waded  for  about  a  mile, 
again  baffling  the  hounds,  which  completely  lost  the 
trail. 

For  sever"l  days  after  this  escape  Tracy  was  not 
seen  by  anyone.  It  is  supposed  that  during  this  time 
he  kept  to  the  cover  of  the  timber,  awaiting  a  chance 
to  get  aw«*y  from  the  proximity  of  so  large  a  force  of 
hunters. 

Driven  at  last,  no  doubt  by  hunger,  the  outlaw  ap- 
peared one  morning  at  the  house  of  a  farmer,  where 
he  took  breakfast,  shaved  and  washed  and  dressed 
himself  in  the  farmer's  Sunday  clothes. 

Having  materially  changed  his  appearance,  he  struck 
out  again  in  the  open,  with  his  usual  audacity,  follow- 
ing the  railroad  tracks  and  passing  a  number  of  depu- 
ties, who  failed  to  recognize  him. 

After  traveling  several  hours  along  the  tracks,  he 


TRACY,   THE   OUTLAW.  179 

boarded  a  train  and  rode  for  over  a  hundred  miles  east, 
when  some  untoward  accident,  caused  him  to  leave  the 
train,  . 

He  had  now  headed  for  a  section  of  the  country 
where  he  knew,  by  reason  of  its  isolation,  he  would  be 
safe  if  he  could  once  reach  it. 

After  leaving  the  train  the  outlaw  continued  on  foot 
through  the  country,  stopping  her^  and  there  to  buy 
from  the  country  people  such  supplies  as  he  needed. 

For  some  time  fortune  favored  him,  but  one  day  he 
stopped  at  the^liouse  of  a  man  who  recognized  him 
from  the  resemblance  to  his  picture. 

The  man  treated  him  hospitably  and  pretended  to 
be  ignorant  of  his  identity,  but  immediately  after  Tracy 
left  the  countryman  hastened  to  the  nearest  railroad 
station  and  gave  the  alarm.  Not  suspecting  that  the 
people  were  now  organizing  in  that  section  to  hunt 
him  down,  he  proceeded  leisurely  on  his  way,  stopping 
here  and  there  at  farm  houses,  paying  liberally  for 
what  he  received  and  sometimes  even  doing  a  day'j 
work. 

The  fiist  intimation  he  had  that  he  had  been  dis- 
covered was  when  he  ran  into  a  posse  near  Go  van, 
Washington.  This  posse  he  evaded  by  taking  to  the 
woods.  He  offered  no  fight  on  this  occasion,  and  had 
since  leaving  the  train  refrained  from  all  violence, 


ISO  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

concluding,  no  doubt,  that  the  less  excitement  he  cre- 
ated the  better  would  be  his  chances  to  get  out  of  the 
country.  Tracy  had  grown  tired  of  the  long  conflict 

with  his  pursuers  and  longed  for'other  scenes. 

v--, 

Perhaps  his  thoughts  reverted  to  his  mother  in  their 
old  home  in  the  Ozark  Mountains.  During  the  chase 
he  had  mentioned  to  several  people  who  had  enter- 
tained him  by  compulsion  that  he  wanted  to  see  his 
mother  before  he  was  taken  dead,  if  such  was  to  be 
his  destiny.  Perhaps  he  was  thinking  of  Genie  and 
the  last  mark  of  affection  for  her  parents  which  she 
had  commissioned  him  to  execute  for  her.  However 
that  may  be,  the  ferocity  of  the  man  was  beginning 
to  melt  as  if  under  the  influence  of  some  subtle  spell. 

Perhaps  he  had  a  premonition,  too,  of  the  end  which 
an  inexorable  fate  had  in  store  as  the  culminating 
climax  of  his  charmed  existence. 

Whatever  his  thoughts  were,  whatever  omens  of  evil 
may  have  been  crowded  through  his  brain,  he  accepted 
with  the  same  fatalistic  philosophy  which  had  influ- 
enced the  whole  course  of  his  life.  Death  had  no 
terror  for  Tracy.  Fear  he  did  not  know.  Life  for 
him  was  a  game  to  be  played,  with  gold  for  the  whiner. 
Woe  to  the  loser  and  death  ^ndeth  all. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

DEATH   OF  TRACY. 

On  the  morning  of  August  5th,  Tracy  appealed  at 
the  ranch  of  the  Eddy  brothers,  on  Lake  Creek  lie 
asked  the  ranchers  if  they  needed  a  hired  man,  vial.;nj 
that  he  was  seeking  work. 

"No,"  replied  one  of  the  brothers,  "we  do  not  need 
any  hands  just  now/' 

"Oh,  well,"  said  Tracy,  "I  don't  want  any  wa^es; 
I'll  be  satisfied  to  work  a  while  for  nothing.  That  will 
give  my  horse  a  rest  and  then  I'll  go  on  and  find  work 
elsewhere. 

Meanwhile  a  posse  had  located  the  bandit,  who  was 
not  aware  that  his  hiding  place  was  known,  and  when 
the  posse  arrived  at  the  ranch  they  saw  one  of  the 
brothers  down  in  a  field  mowing  hay. 

They  rode  down  into  the  field,  and  one  of  the  depu- 
ties asked: 

181 


1 82  TRACY,,   THE  OUTLAW. 

"Has  Tracy  been  here?"   -  V 

"Yes/'  said  Eddy,  "but  he's  gone." 

"Which  way  did  he  go?"  continued  the  deputy. 

"I  don't  know,"  replied  Eddy.  * 

Just  then  Tracy  came  out  of  the  barn  with  Eddy's 
'brother,  and  seeing  the  posse,  said: 

"Bo  you  know  those^  men  ?"       i 

"No,"  said  Eddy,  "I  never  saw  them  before." 

"Well,  they're  after  me."  Saying  this,  the  outlaw 
matched  his  rifle  and  ^an  for  a  gully  back  of  the  barn. 

The  men  following  got  a  position  on  a  hill  command- 
ing a  view  of  where  Tracy  was  partly  sheltered  behind 
a  small  bowlder. 

The  posse  opened  fire  on  the  outlaw,  but  which  he 
returned  with  such  accuracy  that  they  were  driven  to 
cover  behind  a  big  rock. 

From  rock  to  rock  Tracy  crept,  firing  whenever  he 

got  a  chance,  but  the  position  of  the  hunters  was  such 

as  to  place  the  outlaw  at  great  disadvantage.    The  sun 

-was  in  his  eyes,  and  the  blinding  glare  impaired. his 

vision,  seriously  affecting  the. accuracy  of  his  aim. 

Realizing  his  disadvantage,  he  broke  and  ran  for  a 
barley  field,  under  the  rapid  fire  6f  the -posse. 

Just  as  he  reached  the  field  he  was  struck  by  a  ball, 
which  broke  his  leg. 

Dragging   himself   into    the   field,    he    sank   down 


TRACY,    THE   OUTLAW.  183 

amongst  the  grain,  bleeding  profusely,  an  artery  hav- 
ing been  severed. 

Tearing  strips  from  his  clothing,  he  endea  "ored  to 
stop  the  flow  of  blood  by  binding  them  tightly  around 
his  leg.  Then  he  crawled  on  further  into  the  grain. 

The  bullets  were  pouring  in  like  hail  and  cutting  the 
stalks  of  barley  around  him  in  every  direction.  An- 
other bullet  penetrated  his  thigh.  He  could  move  no 
further.  With  what  remaining  strength  {le  had,  the 
fearless  bandit  drew  his  two  revolvers  and  emptied 
them  all  but  one  shot  in  the  direction  of  his  enemies. 
Next  he  emptied  his  Winchester. 

Then  for  a  few  moments  there  was  a  lull,  when  a 
muffled  sound  escaped  from  the  location  amidst  the  tall 
grain  from  which  his  last  shots  were  fired — and  all  was 
still. 

Tracy  had  sent  the  shot  which  he  saved  crashing 
through  his  own  skull. 

For  hours  the  hunters*  did  not  dare  enter  the  field, 
until  the  long-continued  silence  convinced  them  that 
either  the  bandit  had  escaped  again  or  had*  fallen  a 
victim  to  their  fire. 

Cautiously  they  entered  the  field  and  advanced, 
brushing  the  grain  aside. 

Presently  jthey  stopped  and  shuddered  as  they  were 
confronted  with  the  gruesome  corpse  of  the  bandit. 


l8-f  TRACY,  THE  OUTLAW. 

There,  upon  his  back,  his  cold  steel-gray  eyes,  glassy 
and  wide  open,  staring  into  limitless  space,  lay  the  life- 
less form  of  Harry  Tracy,  the  most  fearless  of  out- 
la  wsj  and  King  of  Bandits. 


[END.J 


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